I recently visited the David Hockney exhibition ’82 portraits and 1 still-life’ at the Royal Academy. It was very enjoyable. A few things struck me personally.
Firstly, I thought it was great to see such a large project/programme of related work in one place. The consistency in using similar backgrounds, the same chair, similar light and the same size canvases made me focus more on how the actual subjects were depicted including how the were sitting and such things as the expression in their hands.
Secondly, I felt a little disappointed by the variation between the canvases in detail captured which interrupted the flow a little for me.
Thirdly, I was fascinated at how some of the basic rules of proportion especially in the face had on occasions seem to have been quite blatantly ignored but somehow didn’t look wrong. Some of the faces were caricature-like and I began to think personal observations and exaggerations from the artist had been introduced due to him knowing the subjects so well.
Observations on Hockneys ’82 portraits and 1 still-life’.
