David Hockney’s portrait of artist John Baldessari
Artist David Hockney himself was among the throngs of excited guests for a private premiere of his exhibit at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, which opened to the public on Sunday, April 15.
The exhibit is comprised of 82 portraits that Hockney painted over a period of several years beginning in 2013 and one still life, called “Fruit On A Bench,” painted only because one of the subjects had to cancel is sitting.
Many of the subjects were on hand to see themselves on the walls of LACMA, and there had been a private lunch honored what LACMA CEO Michael Govan called “the sitters.” Among them, artist John Baldessari, architect Frank Gehry, gallerist Larry Gagosian and museum curator Stephanie Barron.
All of the portraits feature the subject sitting in the same chair and all have a blue or bluish-green background depending upon the color of the clothing they were wearing. Most were painted at Hockney’s Los Angeles studio over a period of two or three days.
The artist calls each of them a “20-hour exposure” and invited staff members and close friends– several of whom he’s known for more than 50 years – to participate.
The exhibit was organized by the Royal Academy of Arts, London, in collaboration with the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and sponsored by Phillips. It has already traveled to Melbourne, Venice and Bilbao. The LACMA exhibit it is the only one scheduled in the United States.
It runs through July 29, 2018.
