Between them, David Hockney and Lucian Freud probably had a greater impact on 20th art than any other British artist, and Hockney remains influential today, with his latest work being a well recieved as some of his earlier, more famous works. Like Freud, Hockney is gay, something that influenced both of their paintings, in both subject and style (although Hockney isn’t keen on labels).

A new documentary about David, simply titled Hockney, is finally getting a US release, and you can take a look at a trailer for it below.

Here’s the synopsis: ‘HOCKNEY is the definitive exploration of one of the most significant artists of his generation. For the first time, David Hockney has given access to his personal archive of photographs and film, resulting in an unparalleled visual diary of his life. The film chronicles Hockney’s vast career, from his early life in working-class Bradford, where his love for pictures was developed through his admiration for cinema, to his relocation to Hollywood where his life long struggle to escape labels (‘queer’, ‘working class’, ‘figurative artist’) was fully realized.

‘David Hockney offers theories about art, the universe, and everything: “I’m interested in ways of looking and trying to think of it in simple ways. If you can communicate that, of course people will respond; after all, everybody does look.“ But as HOCKNEY reveals, it’s the hidden self-interrogation that gives his famously optimistic pictures their unexpected edge and attack. The documentary traces the artist’s journey to live the American or Californian dream, yet paradoxically reveals that he never broke ties with the childhood that formed him. Did Yorkshire awkwardness in his blood give him the willpower to survive relationship problems, and later the AIDS plague that killed the majority of his friends? Acclaimed filmmaker Randall Wright offers a unique view of this unconventional artist who is now reaching new peaks of popularity worldwide, and, at 78, is as charismatic as ever, working in the studio seven days a week.’

Director Randall Wright comments, “I wanted to create a strong sense of place in the two very different landscape that David calls home – the vast bright spaces of California, and the moody hills of East Yorkshire. The creative push and pull of these absolute opposite environments energizes David’s constant search for answers, both creative and personal. Also digital cinema is now brilliant for reproducing painting. The color accuracy, and image resolution is breathtaking. David’s paintings look stunning on the big screen. As David would be quick to point out, the two mediums, cinema and painting have a much closer relationship in the twentieth century than people realize.

“After the Second World War European humanist filmmakers saw themselves as continuing the figurative tradition of oil painting. And films were always significant to David. He moved to the Hollywood Hills, he befriended Billy Wilder, and of course he has experimented with films for the last thirty years, resulting in his recent multi-screen movies. Some of his latest paintings are massive and in a widescreen format. For me cinema offers the opportunity to deal with an artist in a very down to earth way, without commentary and the standard art world experts. In the dark we can really focus on powerful images without interruptions.”

Hockney will open at the Film Society of Lincoln Center and at Metrograph in New York, and at Laemmle Royal, Playhouse 7 and Noho 7 in Los Angeles on April 22, 2016, before moving to other US cities. [Read more…]