Continuing through September 19, 2015
It goes without saying that any David Hockney exhibition grabs our attention, mostly because Hockney is such an inventive artist that it would be a shame to miss his latest foray into something new. Usually he delivers. "Painting and Photography" is a beautifully installed and subtle exhibition that examines the relationship between the two mediums, a subject that has occupied Hockney's interest for many years.
The exhibition opens with a painting of a chair that is positioned in the corner of the gallery, posing questions about how we see and how we translate what we see into art. How many moments can be displayed at the same time? Dating from at least the time of Cubism, this is not a new aesthetic issue. Nor is it recent in Hockney's practice. Yet the thesis is so precisely illustrated here that the viewer can’t help but leave the show with a clearer understanding of these complex relationships. Hockney is a deft painter and skilled with digital technologies. He has the ability to integrate where these two disciplines inform and play off each other. In his own words: “Painters have always known there is something wrong with perspective. The problem is the foreground and the vanishing point ... Well not now. Digital photography can free us from a chemically imposed perspective that has lasted for 180 years."
Published Courtesy of ArtSceneCal ©2015
