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He continues to create, is David Hockney. Now in his late eighties, with over six decades of professional experience which has propelled him to the pinnacle in the modern art world, the artist remains active with his brush, still experimenting, still innovating, and still having shows.

A Glimpse into the Exhibition

This art presentation – debuting in a prestigious central London venue for Annely Juda, his gallery since the 1990s – is packed with paintings so new you can almost smell the wet paint. The initial gallery is all eye-searingly bright still lifes: chairs, tables, fruit and flowers. It’s the most old-fashioned and staid of subject matter, Hockney’s approach is never boring, is it?

His chairs reminiscent of Van Gogh are neon yellow and luminous purple; his floors are clashing compositions of red, yellow and orange shapes; his fruit depictions are simple, elemental, and youthful. Throughout, he toys with what he calls “reverse perspective”, an attempt to replicate how we actually see the world, not the static view of life found in photos and traditional art. Thus, everything appears unstable and distorted. His chair legs splay, his tablecloths warp. It may not be more accurate than classical perspective than traditional painting, yet the dizzying, uneasy sensation it produces is engaging and amusing. Garden images are incorporated into certain pieces – little glimpses of a somewhat dull English reality that just make the rest of each work feel brighter and sunnier.

Nothing he does is ever dull … Delphiniums on My Garden Table, a recent creation.

Changes in Artistic Technique

What is unmistakable is the increased tremor in the brushstrokes compared to earlier works. Traditional Hockney pieces are confident, so in command of his paintbrush, but these new works are almost shockingly unsteady. The brush marks are full of quivers and tremors, the lines are all over the shop, bits of white underpainting poke out everywhere. They border on chaotic, but still immediately, uniquely and recognisably him. This creates a deeply moving and poignant encounter – we’re watching one of the great artists of modern times age in front of our eyes. Compare all this with the very early works on display in another show earlier this year and it almost starts to feel like bookends of a career, and I’m not sure I’m ready to handle that level of morbidity, truly.

Figurative Works: Critical Views

The portraits are where this show fails the hardest though. Hockney’s approach to skin tone has edged more towards pointillism over the years resulting in figures that appear afflicted with blemishes. Every subject is patchy, flushed and marked, dabbed with pink and red hues with the exception of one individual who looks somewhat decayed. The depictions resemble lifeless forms than living beings with heartbeats and vitality. A three-panel mirror portrait is a good idea, yet the subject appears awkwardly waiting for his wife in a mundane setting. Solely the self-representation showing Hockney painting in a wheelchair is successful, due to its raw openness, and its humorous self-reflection.

Serene and minimalist … a piece from early 2020.

Experiments with Technology

Upstairs, the artist persists with his digital creations with a series of “paintings” of the moon; all dark and moody, large radiant spheres suspended over darkened scenery. They feel quiet, austere, maybe a little sad. I won’t hear any whingeing about his iPad work – people complain about the lack of texture and brush marks and human touch, etc., yet in my view, they are impressive – an artist bending new technology to his will, showing that whatever the medium, he preserves his distinctive artistic identity.

Debating Artistic Output

But look, is another Hockney show necessary? Over ten exhibitions of his art have been held in London in the last eight or nine years alone, not to mention the giant retrospective at the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris earlier this year, and this new exhibition isn’t even the last of it. Another significant event is planned for 2026, too. I love Hockney, yet I believe there may be a limit.

Nevertheless, I guess we should celebrate him while we can. Here, through these recent pieces with their imperfections, wit, and vibrancy, he demonstrates his ongoing dedication, and his talent endures, all these years later.