Tulips
Signed Print

This elegant etching by David Hockney depicts a thin vase delicately arranged with five tulips, their full blooms appearing almost precarious on their spindly stems. In its spare composition the work recalls the Japanese practice of ikebana in which flowers become almost sculptural in their arrangement which must be filled with balance and harmony. In this way the flowers become artworks in their own right. Hockney first travelled to Japan in 1971 and the trip pervades much of his work after this point, from the numerous photo collages he made of temples to the delicate flower arrangements in still lifes such as this one. We also see the influence of Japanese prints on series such as Weather and here we find the artist using etching to create a simple scene that plays with the effects of light and space to evoke lightness of being. Divorced from their natural environment, the tulips are transformed, recalling almost art nouveau swirls of metal and becoming a little unsettling in their creeping motion. The work is also very illustrative in style and would not be out of place in David Hockney’s 1969 series Illustrations For Six Fairy Tales From The Brothers Grimm.