Introduction: An 88-Year-Old Force of Joy
David Hockney, at the age many artists consider retirement, continues to redefine what a late career can look like. The new exhibition, described with characteristic insouciance as Some Very, Very, Very New Paintings Not Yet Shown in Paris, signals a return to the artist’s childhood joys—an exuberant, unguarded approach that fans have long celebrated. At 88, Hockney’s brushwork remains nimble, his eye for color electric, and his capacity to surprise undiminished.
A Fresh Batch of Paintings: Interiors, Still Lifes, and Portraits
The show gathers an intimate selection of interiors, still lifes, and portraits that feel both newly minted and timeless. Viewers encounter sunlit kitchens, open windows, and cluttered tables where fruit and flowers radiate with almost architectural clarity. Hockney’s interiors—often rendered with a bold, almost decorative line—invite us to step into a room where light is the real subject. The artist’s still lifes pulse with saturated color, the ordinary transformed into a stage where color relationships become drama.
Why the Paris Connection Feels Personal
The title’s playful repetition mirrors a familiar Hockney tactic: lay down a concept, then push it into a more intimate, almost childlike register. There’s a sense of discovery in these works, as if the artist is re-learning the joy of looking. Paris has always been a proving ground for Hockney’s ideas about space, perspective, and light, and this show continues that dialogue with a fresh, almost boyish spontaneity. The absence of stricter linear perspective in favor of luminous blocks of color gives the paintings a buoyant quality that readers familiar with Hockney will recognize as a hallmark of his late style.
Childhood as a Lens for Maturity
One of the most compelling threads in this collection is how the “return to childhood” motif translates into a mature painter’s tool. The joy and curiosity of a child become a method for examining memory, home, and familiarity. The interiors feel like stages from a shared memory, where light spills across table tops and into corners as if time itself were a pigment. In portraits, the sitter’s essence seems to flicker into view with an immediacy that only a lifetime of looking can produce. This approach is not nostalgic retreat; it’s a deliberate rebirth of wonder that animates every stroke.
Technique and a Painter’s Rhythm
Technically, the works show Hockney’s continued mastery of color and geometry. You’ll notice crisp edges that hold back the air, juxtaposed with softer fields where light diffuses. This tactile interplay—between defined forms and luminous atmosphere—gives the paintings their signature vitality. The brushwork remains generous but economical, allowing large flats of color to speak with a confidence that invites the eye to wander, pause, and then leap to the next detail. The energy is kinetic, yet the mood is affectionate and intimate, much like a conversation with an old friend who suddenly reveals a brand-new joke.
What This Means for Hockney’s Legacy
As Hockney nears what might be the final chapters of his painting career, this exhibition reframes the arc of his life’s work. Rather than a retrospective tone, the show feels like a chapter of ongoing discovery—an artist who refuses to settle, who treats every canvas as a fresh field of possibility. For critics and collectors, the question isn’t whether these works are “late-period” but whether they succeed on their own terms. The answer, as the galleries suggest, is a resounding yes: a celebration of light, color, and the unalienable joy of looking.
Conclusion: An Invitation to Revisit Wonder
David Hockney’s 88th year brings with it a reminder that artistic vitality can be renewed rather than exhausted. The latest paintings—new yet unmistakably Hockney—invite us to witness a master at play, a man who refuses to outgrow the curiosity that first drew him to image and color. If the Paris show is any indication, we are watching not a farewell, but a living testament to the joy of seeing the world with the freshness of a child and the scope of a master.
