Flowers Apple And Pear On Table
Signed Print

Hockney began experimenting with digital prints – and consequently revolutionised his practice – when he bought his first office photocopier in 1986. Having previously worked mostly in etching and lithography Hockney was able to enjoy a newfound independence in the use of this machine which did away with the need for an assistant. By layering sketches and textures and swapping the colour ink cartridges as he went along, Hockney was able to produce vibrant and complex artworks which would have taken hours to perfect in a traditional print workshop. Speaking of the freedom offered by this new technique the artist said, “I can work with great speed and responsiveness. In fact this is the closest I’ve ever come in printing to what it’s like to paint: I can put something down, evaluate it, alter it, revise it, reexamine it, all in a matter of seconds.” In Flowers, Apple And Pear On Table, Hockney updates and subverts the traditional genre of the still life, playing with planes and perspective to give us a tilting and dynamic vision of a table upon which sit the classic elements of a still life – fruit and flowers – and yet the effect is strikingly modern.