Conversation In The Studio
Signed Print

While it is titled Conversation In The Studio this print by David Hockney contains no figures in it. Instead what appears to be in conversation is the furniture; an armchair, two pouffes, a chair and a table have been carefully arranged, their relations to one another pulling the composition together in a way that draws the eye across every corner of the sheet. Dominated by primary colours the work holds a kind of naivety to it that recalls the drawings of children. The perspective is slightly off and the furniture appears to tilt towards us as if on a cruise ship caught in the swell of a wave, embodying the ‘Moving Focus’ of the series title. The naivety is emphasised by Hockney’s seeming use of pencil or crayon to denote areas of the yellow floor, the wooden beam in the corner and the doorway which has been scribbled in, as well as the works in progress which hang on the walls of the studio. Dating to 1984–1986 Moving Focus shows a playful, experimental turn in Hockney's printmaking oeuvre, which sees him embrace bold colours and multiple perspectives to striking effect. Influenced by Cubism as well as his many photographic collages, Moving Focus also demonstrates the artist’s confidence with lithography which he puts to varying effect in the series.