Yayoi Kusama & David Hockney

Visions of Nature

YAYOI KUSAMA AND DAVID HOCKNEY  COMMONLY FEATURE NATURE AS A MOTIF IN THEIR WORK. KUSAMA APPLIES HER SPIRITED PATTERN-MAKING TO ANIMALS AND GARDEN SCENES. HOCKNEY PRACTICES PATIENCE IN HIS SKILLFUL BLENDING OF DEPTH AND TEXTURES. WITH BOTH ARTISTS, NATURE ACTS AS A MEANS TO SHOWCASE THEIR UNIQUE METHODS AND PERSONALITIES.

 

ORIGINALLY STEMMING FROM THE ARTIST'S VIVID HALLUCINATIONS, KUSAMA'S PIECES BALANCE PATTERNS OF ORGANIZED CHAOS WITH PLAYFUL COLORS AND SCENES. ANIMALS AND FAUNA PROVIDE AN INTERESTING YET FAMILIAR BASE FOR HER DESIGNS TO TAKE HOLD. KUSAMA'S NATURE IS FREE-FLOWING, USUALLY WITHOUT REFERENCE TO ANYWHERE SPECIFIC. THE SCENES ARE FILTERED THROUGH HER IMAGINATION AND KALEIDOSCOPIC LENS. REALISTIC IMAGES ARE FLARED WITH PERSONALITY, MIXING PLAYFUL ICONOGRAPHY WITH ABSTRACT TEXTURES.

HOCKNEY'S VIEW OF NATURE IS MORE MANICURED AND DOMESTICATED. HUMAN IMPRINTS ARE VISIBLE IN HOCKNEY'S RENDERINGS; LANDSCAPES CAPTURED THROUGH THE GLASS PANES OF A WINDOW, SCENES FRAMED BY HOUSES AND OTHER STRUCTURES OF CIVILIZATION. OFTEN CAPTURED WITH A DIGITAL LENS, HE'S ABLE TO ZOOM IN TO CAPTURE TINY DETAILS AND EASILY COMBINE DIFFERENT STROKE SIZES. HOCKNEY FREQUENTLY REFERENCES SEASONS AND EXACT LOCATIONS, ALLUDING TO A TEMPORAL RELATIONSHIP HE FEELS WITH NATURE. BY PAINTING WHAT HE SEES, VIEWERS ARE ALLOWED INTO SPECIFIC MOMENTS FROM HIS LIFE. THESE THEMES COME TO LIFE IN HIS YOSEMITE SUITE, THE ARRIVAL OF SPRING IN WOLDGATE, AND HIS MOST RECENT 20 FLOWERS SERIES.
 

THERE ARE MANY INSTANCES WHERE KUSAMA AND HOCKNEY'S SUBJECTS INTERSECT, INCLUDING VASES OF FLOWERS AND PIECES OF FRUIT. HOW THEY INTERPRET THE SCENES REFLECTS THEIR INDIVIDUAL RELATIONSHIP WITH THE NATURAL SUBJECT. KUSAMA CONSIDERS NATURE AS AN EXTENSION OF HERSELF, WHILE HOCKNEY REMAINS A CAREFUL OBSERVER. IN EITHER CASE, NATURE ACTS AS A NEUTRAL VESSEL FOR THE ARTIST TO BRING VIEWERS INTO THEIR WORLD.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON NATURE RELATED PAINTINGS AND PRINTS BY YAYOI KUSAMA AND DAVID HOCKNEY, INQUIRE BELOW OR CONTACT INFO@GUYHEPNER.COM.

 
January 12, 2024
    • David Hockney, The Yosemite Suite No. 1, 2010
      David Hockney, The Yosemite Suite No. 1, 2010
    • David Hockney, The Yosemite Suite No. 11, 2010
      David Hockney, The Yosemite Suite No. 11, 2010
    • David Hockney, The Yosemite Suite No. 14, 2010
      David Hockney, The Yosemite Suite No. 14, 2010
    • David Hockney, The Yosemite Suite No. 15, 2010
      David Hockney, The Yosemite Suite No. 15, 2010
    • Yayoi Kusama, Butterflies, 1989
      Yayoi Kusama, Butterflies, 1989
    • Yayoi Kusama, Dawn, 1989
      Yayoi Kusama, Dawn, 1989
    • Yayoi Kusama, Depth of the Sea, 1993
      Yayoi Kusama, Depth of the Sea, 1993
    • Yayoi Kusama, Flower Garden, 1989
      Yayoi Kusama, Flower Garden, 1989
    • David Hockney, 5th May The Arrival of Spring in Woldgate, East Yorkshire in 2011, 2011
      David Hockney, 5th May The Arrival of Spring in Woldgate, East Yorkshire in 2011, 2011
    • David Hockney, 31st May, The Arrival of Spring in Woldgate , East Yorkshire in 2011, 2011
      David Hockney, 31st May, The Arrival of Spring in Woldgate , East Yorkshire in 2011, 2011
    • David Hockney, January 4, The Arrival of Spring in Woldgate, East Yorkshire, 2011
      David Hockney, January 4, The Arrival of Spring in Woldgate, East Yorkshire, 2011
    • 24th of April, Arrival of Spring in Woldgate
      David Hockney, April 24, The Arrival of Spring in Woldgate, East Yorkshire, 2011
    • Yayoi Kusama, Flower Basket, 1993
      Yayoi Kusama, Flower Basket, 1993
    • Yayoi Kusama, Flowers, 1996
      Yayoi Kusama, Flowers, 1996
    • Yayoi Kusama, Grapes, 1983
      Yayoi Kusama, Grapes, 1983
    • Yayoi Kusama, Hat Left Behind in the Field, 1981
      Yayoi Kusama, Hat Left Behind in the Field, 1981