Artist David Hockney is set to unveil a new large-scale painting in the window of a Kent gallery.
The installation will take over the floor-to-ceiling window in the Sunley Gallery of the Turner Contemporary, overlooking the beach in Margate, to celebrate the attraction’s 15th anniversary.
A large-scale installation by artist David Hockney will be on display in Margate for the first time. Picture: Jean-Pierre Gonçalves de Lima
The artwork, which depicts a sunrise in Normandy, will measure seven-by-ten metres and marks the first time that a major piece by the artist has been exhibited in the seaside town.
The display is based on a digital painting, first created by the award-winning artist in 2020 on an iPad, during the year he spent in France producing several pieces inspired by weather and light.
The image will not only be visible during the day, but it will also be illuminated after dark, so it can be viewed from the seafront at night.
The artwork will transform the large window in the Sunley Gallery. Picture: Benedict Johnson
Turner Contemporary director Clarrie Wallis said: “Hockney’s sunrise, painted in Normandy in 2020, suggests renewal. Installed in the Sunley Window, it enters into a quiet but powerful dialogue with Margate’s own skies and sea. Illuminated at night, the work becomes a point of light on the seafront – one that encourages looking, long after the gallery doors have closed.”
The 88-year-old artist, born in Yorkshire, is known for being a pioneer of the pop art movement in the 1960s.
His large-scale, landscape paintings have become some of the most well-known works of the 20th century, resulting in many accolades over the years, including the John Moores Painting Prize and the Praemium Imperiale.
His 1972 painting, Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures), broke the record for the most expensive piece of art sold by a living artist when it was purchased for $90 million at a New York City auction in 2018.
Turner Contemporary first opened to the public in April 2011. Picture: Benjamin Beker
His work in the Margate gallery coincides with a major exhibition, A Year in Normandie and Some Other Thoughts about Painting, which recently opened at London’s Serpentine North.
The display features a series of new paintings, including portraits of the painter’s family, and his ninety-metre-long frieze, A Year in Normandie, on show in London for the first time.
David Hockney’s painting will be unveiled in the Turner Contemporary’s Sunley Gallery from Wednesday, April 1.
It will be on display until Sunday, November 1 and is free for the public to view.