{"id":706162,"date":"2026-07-23T00:24:11","date_gmt":"2026-07-23T00:24:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/706162\/"},"modified":"2026-07-23T00:24:11","modified_gmt":"2026-07-23T00:24:11","slug":"you-can-love-david-hockney-and-still-hate-his-ipad-paintings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/706162\/","title":{"rendered":"You Can Love David Hockney and Still Hate His iPad Paintings"},"content":{"rendered":"

Art Review<\/a><\/p>\n

No amount of curatorial artspeak counters the sense that the late artist\u2019s massive digital painting lacks the inventive mark-making and use of color that characterized his life\u2019s work.<\/p>\n


\n \"Olivia
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

\"You
\n Detail of David Hockney, “A Year in Normandie” (2020\u201321), composite iPad painting (\u00a9 David Hockney; image courtesy Serpentine Galleries)<\/p>\n

LONDON \u2014 The Bayeux Tapestry, an 11th-century, 230-foot (~70-meter) linen that illustrates the story of the Norman conquest, has just returned<\/a> to England after nearly a millennium for a forthcoming exhibition at the British Museum. Was David Hockney taking the piss out of this event by presenting an even longer 295-foot (~90-meter) composite iPad \u201cpainting,” titled \u201cA Year in Normandie\u201d (2020\u201321), at Serpentine Galleries in March?<\/p>\n

Hockney, who died<\/a> last month at age 88, argued against<\/a> the Bayeux Tapestry\u2019s loan from the French government due to the risk to the object, a concern expressed by numerous historians and scholars. Yet his Serpentine show, entitled A Year in Normandie and Some Other Thoughts About Painting<\/a>, cites Hockney\u2019s \u201cendless invention\u201d through more than 100 printed iPad paintings digitally \u201cstitched\u201d together. Encircling the gallery interior, this work is meant to \u201cencourage movement and close looking,\u201d as the opening wall text states. Furthermore, the exhibition purports to highlight how Hockney\u2019s work \u201cfuses digital tools with ancient traditions,\u201d inspired by 14th-century Chinese scroll paintings and, yes, the Bayeux Tapestry itself.<\/p>\n

\"\"Installation view of David Hockney’s “A Year in Normandie” (2020\u201321) at Serpentine North (\u00a9 David Hockney; photo George Darrell, courtesy Serpentine Galleries)<\/p>\n

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