캔버스 위의 영원한 여름, 데이비드 호크니가 남긴 ‘더 큰 첨벙’의 여운 > K-wave Trends

Hockney's artistic journey began spectacularly in line with the birth of British pop art in the 1960s. Immediately after graduating from the Royal College of Art in London, he boldly destroyed the conventional one-point loss perspective and created a new grammar of two-dimensional painting. In particular, the strong sun and sparkling swimming pool he encountered when he moved to Los Angeles, USA, became a decisive inspiration for establishing his artistic identity. The swimming pool series, represented by 'A Bigger Splash', is evaluated as not simply depicting the waves of water, but also capturing the languid yet transparent air of California on canvas. These bold compositions and use of primary colors elevated him beyond a simple painter to an icon of his time.

He was a constant experimenter who was not confined by the limitations of the medium. He devoted his life to expanding the scope of visual art, encompassing not only painting but also photo collage, printmaking, and stage design. In particular, the fact that he actively adopted digital drawing using the iPad despite his advanced age clearly demonstrates his enterprising artistic spirit. His attitude of not being afraid of new technology and using it as a tool to maximize his creativity presented a new artistic language for the digital age. This experimentation was the key driving force that made him one of the most influential artists between the 20th and 21st centuries.

Hockney's life was very progressive, not only in terms of artistic achievement but also in raising a social voice. He proudly revealed his sexual orientation from a young age and showed courage in confronting prejudice and censorship against homosexuality in conservative British society at the time. His works depict friends, lovers, and everyday scenes from a warm and honest perspective, conveying deep emotional resonance to the audience. In addition, he sublimated the physical limitations of congenital hearing loss into artistic sensibility and developed an extraordinary ability to observe the world. These human aspects are the reason why his art went beyond mere technical perfection and was able to have an authenticity that transcends the times.

Commercial success was also an indicator of his artistic status. In 2018, his masterpiece ‘Portrait of the Artist (Pool with Two Figures)’ was sold at auction for an astronomical amount of $90.3 million, breaking the record for the highest price paid by a living artist at the time, causing a stir around the world. But for Hockney, money or fame could not outweigh his pure passion for art. In Korea, the 2019 Seoul Museum of Art retrospective attracted an astonishing 370,000 visitors, establishing a special connection with the Korean public. He painted until the last moment of his life and sang about the joy of looking at the world, and the numerous works he left behind have now become a common asset to mankind.