David Hockney’s first immersive exhibition takes visitors on a multisensory journey through the artist’s works

David Hockney, still painting at 85, likes pushing boundaries, and his latest exhibition, at Lightroom in London, is a 50-minute immersive experience

Some of his best-known works feature in the show, including some from his time in Los Angeles in the 1960s, as well as ones painted in France in Covid lockdown

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David Hockney, is still painting at 85, and his latest exhibition (above) is a 50-minute multisensory experience, taking viewers through his paintings from Los Angeles in the 1960s as well as artworks from Normandy, painted during Covid lockdown. Photo: Daniel Leal/AFP

Published: 11:15am, 25 Feb 2023

David Hockney’s first immersive show has opened to the public in London, offering a hypnotic, multisensory journey through the artist’s decades-long career, from sun-drenched California swimming pools to the Normandy countryside.

“The world is very, very beautiful if you look at it. Most people don’t look,” says Hockney in the commentary which runs through the show, “David Hockney: Bigger & Closer (not smaller & further away)”, along with archive recordings.

Aged 85 and still painting, Hockney fully embraced the immersive concept, says Richard Slaney, chief executive of London’s new Lightroom venue, which co-developed the show with the artist.

“He’s always been an innovator. He’s always been pushing the boundaries of things,” he says.

A part of “David Hockney: Bigger & Closer (not smaller & further away)”, an immersive exhibition at the Lightroom gallery in London. Photo: Daniel Leal/AFP

The exhibition grew out of an email Slaney sent Hockney in 2019, suggesting a collaboration.