After his mother passed away in the late 90s, he returned to Yorkshire, leaving behind the California sun to confront the changing seasons and subtle shifts in light. Inspired by Constable and Turner, he began combining sketching, watercolor, charcoal, and photography. The largest tree painting from his Yorkshire series, composed of fifty separate canvases, was later donated to the Tate.

Seeing his later iPad paintings, some might wonder what’s so impressive about drawing on a tablet—after all, their kids could do it too. Unless that child is a once-in-a-century genius, they really couldn’t. One look at his watercolor sketches reveals a level of technical mastery that is staggering; he is a master regardless of the medium. A series of works he calls "photographic drawings" are essentially Photoshop creations, yet he has imbued them with his own distinct style. My intuition is that this relates to his study of "group portraits" in traditional iconography.

During the 2020 lockdown, he was confined to his cottage in the Normandy countryside and began using his iPad to create drawings to send to friends and family. This gave birth to the famous line, "Remember, they can't cancel spring." So, in essence, the origin of this series is simply Hockney’s version of a "Good Morning" LINE message.

Finally, on the third floor, the walls display his sources of inspiration, ranging from Fra Angelico to Van Gogh and Picasso. This section explains how he used Cubist multi-point perspective to structure his viewpoints and compositions, which led to works like Pearblossom Hwy., 11–18th April 1986, composed of numerous photographs. The final room is dedicated to his opera designs. He loves music and has synesthesia; he once said we need more opera, as it transcends life itself.

When I say at the exhibition that Louis Vuitton is wealthy, I don’t just mean the ticket prices or the scale of the show. The value of these works has reached such a level that one can only imagine the cost of insurance alone. In fact, the prices of contemporary art have reached a point where most public institutions in the world are no longer capable of hosting exhibitions of this magnitude. This is something you won't see written on the walls while visiting.

Returning to the Yorkshire charcoal sketches: they capture the landscape as it transitions from winter to spring. The handling of space and light is incredibly delicate, with layers of light and shadow creating a rich texture. After seeing them, Eric remarked that even though these sketches are black and white, you can still feel the color. The use of complementary green and pink to create optical gray mixtures reminded me of Post-Impressionist techniques. In this sense, Hockney is truly a contemporary classical painter.