Apples, Pears, Grapes, May 1986

From aquatints to iPad drawings, Hockney has become known for his ability to work across multiple mediums and to keep up with the latest technology. After working mostly with etching and lithography, in 1986 the artist began working with an office photocopier to produce vibrant editions reminiscent of lithographs or screen prints. While before he had been working with an assistant to produce his prints, the photocopier gave him a new found freedom which allowed him to experiment with colour and texture from his home. The resulting prints, which form the Home Made Prints series, represent this new way of working, embracing both spontaneity and agency in their dynamism and vibrant palette.

In Apples, Pears, Grapes, May 1986 we see the artist subverting the traditionally stiff genre of the still life, bringing movement and depth to these carefully arranged objects through variations of line and tone. The graininess of the photocopier is emphasised rather than smoothed over, and the background becomes a dizzying mess of scribbled lines, doing away with the order and restraint viewers have come to expect of the subject. Using just red, green and black Hockney evokes a late summer’s afternoon, playing with perspective to draw our eye to a wicker basket overflowing with grapes, pears and apples.