Earlier this month, we attended the opening of “Hockney/Origins: Early Works from the Roy B. and Edith J. Simpson Collection” at the Bruce Museum in Connecticut. The exhibition showcases rarely exhibited works by the world-renowned artist, providing a unique insight into his early career, from his student days at London's Royal College of Art in the early 1960s.
The Bruce Museum's slogan is “Where art meets science” and its CEO and sole director, Robert Wolterstorff, sees Hockney's practice as a fitting combination of the two: “Hockney is endlessly fascinated by the way we see the world and represents it through marks on the paper or screen. This act of seeing, interpreting and creating is at the heart of art and science.”
The exhibition, curated by Margarita Karasoulas, features 16 works on loan from the Roy B. and Edith J. Simpson Collection. The couple built a large collection of Hockney's works in their Connecticut home over several decades. Edith J. Simpson said “we never believed it was ours to keep forever, so it is a great joy to share this special collection with the Bruce Museum and the broader community.”
A key work in the exhibition is “A Grand Procession of Dignitaries in the Semi-Egyptian Style” (1961), made when Hockney was 24. The painting was inspired by Constantine P. Cavafy's 1898 poem “Waiting for the Barbarians”. Cavafy was one of the first modern authors to write openly about homosexuality, and his work was impactful for Hockney, who was living as a gay man before the partial decriminalization of homosexuality in Britain in 1967. The artwork earned Hockney the gold medal in 1962 “Young Contemporaries Exhibition” at the Galleries of the Royal Society of British Artists in London.
Hockney's portfolio is vast and his inspiration comes from a multitude of places and styles. “French Shop” (1971) demonstrates the artist’s Pop Art inspirations, and “Japanese House and Tree” (1978) shows the influence of the Fauvist Henri Matisse.
Some of Hockney's best-loved paintings include water: his painting “A Bigger Splash” (1967) is perhaps his best-known painting and its title was used for the 1973 biographical documentary about the artist's life and break with artist and author Peter Schlesinger. “Hockney/Origins” includes two pieces from Hockney’s “Paper Pools” series – “Diving Board with Shadow” (Paper Pool 15) (1978) and “Swimming Underwater” (Paper Pool 16) (1978), made before Hockney move from London to California. The works were inspired by his visits to artist Kenneth Tyler's swimming pool in New York and mark the beginning of a new medium in Hockney's practice - paper pulp.
The exhibition also includes portraits of Hockney's friends and colleagues, including "Celia in Red and White Dress" (1972) of his muse, the textile designer Celia Birtwell. The pair met in Los Angeles in 1964, and Birtwell posed for him numerous times over 60 years. She was most famously portrayed in Hockney's 1970-1 painting, “Mr and Mrs Clark and Percy”, alongside her husband, fashion designer Ossie Clark.
The Bruce Museum was originally the private home of Reverend Dr. Francis L. Hawks. It was donated to the city of Greenwich by its next owner, the textile merchant Robert Moffat Bruce, in 1908 and its first exhibition was held in 1912. Its collection now encompasses more than 30,000 objects and a new exhibition space opened in April.
Source: Artnet News