"David Hockney, 25"
An Unprecedented Exhibition at Fondation Louis Vuitton
David Hockney, “Christopher Isherwood and Don Bachardy” 1968
Acrylic on canvas, 212.09 x 303.53 cm (83.5 x 119.5 Inches) – © David Hockney
Photo Credit: Fabrice Gibert
In what promises to be one of the most significant art events of 2025, British art icon David Hockney will be the focus of an unprecedented exhibition at Paris’s architectural marvel, the Fondation Louis Vuitton. Opening April 9 and running through August 31, “David Hockney, 25” will showcase the 87-year-old artist’s enduring creative vitality across the foundation’s eleven galleries.
The exhibition’s subtitle, “Do remember they can’t cancel the spring,” reflects Hockney’s optimistic outlook – a perspective that resonated profoundly during the pandemic when his vibrant iPad drawings of Normandy served as colorful reminders of life’s resilience.
Seven Decades of Innovation
Unlike typical retrospectives that follow strict chronological progression, this exhibition takes a more dynamic approach. While early masterpieces like “A Bigger Splash” (1967) and “Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures)” (1972) will be featured, the primary focus falls on Hockney’s remarkable late-career renaissance over the past quarter-century.
The decision to emphasize his recent work challenges the conventional narrative that artists produce their most significant contributions in their youth. At a time when many artists might rest on established reputations, Hockney has instead embarked on bold new directions, embracing digital technologies while maintaining his distinctive visual language.
“What makes Hockney so extraordinary is his refusal to stand still,” notes Sir Norman Rosenthal, guest curator. “At an age when most artists have settled into familiar patterns, he continues to experiment with new media and perspectives.”
David Hockney; “Bigger Trees near Warter or/ou Peinture sur le Motif pour le Nouvel Age
Post-Photographique” 2007, Oil on 50 canvases (36 x 48″ each), 457.2 x 1219.2 cm (180 x 480 Inches) © David Hockney Photo Credit: Prudence Cuming Associates Tate, U.K.
Digital Pioneer
Perhaps most fascinating is Hockney’s embrace of technology. Long before NFTs and digital art became mainstream topics, Hockney was pioneering artistic expression on iPhones and iPads. His “220 for 2020” series, created entirely on iPad during the pandemic, will receive a dedicated installation, demonstrating how traditional artistic sensibilities can thrive through contemporary tools.
This digital work stands in compelling contrast to his monumental Yorkshire landscapes, including “Bigger Trees near Warter” (2007), on special loan from London’s Tate. The conversation between these works reveals an artist equally at home with pixels and paint.
Geographical Journeys
The exhibition maps Hockney’s geographical movements from Yorkshire to California to Normandy, where he now resides in a 17th-century Norman house. Each location has profoundly influenced his palette and perspective.
Visitors will witness how Hockney’s return to the landscapes of his youth in Yorkshire triggered a late-career explosion of creativity, before his relocation to Normandy inspired a series capturing the changing light and seasons of the French countryside. His most recent works, created since moving to London in July 2023, reveal new influences from Edvard Munch and William Blake, suggesting that at 87, Hockney continues to evolve.
David Hockney “Bigger Trees near Warter or/ou Peinture sur le Motif pour le Nouvel Age, Post-Photographique” 2007
Oil on 50 canvases (36 x 48″ each), 457.2 x 1219.2 cm (180 x 480 Inches) © David Hockney
Photo Credit: Prudence Cuming Associates
Tate, U.K.
Theatrical Visions
One of the exhibition’s highlights will transform the foundation’s most monumental space into an immersive audiovisual experience. Drawing on Hockney’s decades-long relationship with opera, this collaboration with 59 Studio will reinterpret his stage designs from productions including Stravinsky’s “The Rake’s Progress” (1975) and Puccini’s “Turandot” (1990).
This inclusion acknowledges Hockney’s significant contributions beyond canvas and screen. Since the 1970s, his bold, color-saturated sets have revolutionized opera design, bringing contemporary visual sensibilities to classical performances.
Art Historical Dialogue
The exhibition’s top floor begins with “The Great Wall” (2000), Hockney’s personal curation of art historical influences from the Quattrocento forward. This section reveals how deeply the artist has engaged with predecessors from Fra Angelico to Picasso while forging his own distinctive path.
“Hockney understands that great art always exists in conversation with the past,” explains François Michaud, associate curator. “His work demonstrates how tradition can be honored while being utterly contemporary.”
The Artist’s Hand
While museum exhibitions typically maintain distance between curatorial and artistic voices, this presentation breaks that boundary. Hockney has been intimately involved at every stage, personally selecting works and directing the flow of the exhibition alongside his companion and studio manager, Jean-Pierre Gonçalves de Lima.
“This exhibition means an enormous amount because it is the largest I’ve ever had,” Hockney remarked during planning sessions. This personal investment promises visitors not just a collection of artworks, but a journey through Hockney’s artistic sensibility as he himself wishes it to be understood.
As Suzanne Pagé, artistic director of the Fondation Louis Vuitton notes, “We are not simply showing Hockney’s art – we are inviting the public to see through Hockney’s eyes.”
For art lovers, this rare opportunity to experience the full breadth of a living master’s vision in a setting as spectacular as the Frank Gehry-designed Fondation Louis Vuitton makes “David Hockney, 25” an essential cultural pilgrimage for 2025.
David Hockney, “Winter Timber” 2009, Oil on 15 canvases (36 x 48″ each), 274.32 x 609.6 cm (108 x 240 Inches) © David Hockney
Photo Credit: Jonathan Wilkinson