David Hockney: 'I worked every day' during COVID lockdown in France

David Hockney, the celebrated British contemporary artist, has died at the age of 88. In a 2021 interview with AFP, he reflected on the months he spent in France during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown.

Hockney said he did not mind the lockdown at all. He was staying in an isolated location in Normandy and worked every day because there were no visitors. "Visitors put me off, get in the way," he explained. All of the drawings were made on an iPad, which had become his preferred tool. He considered it a new technique that few people were using.

The result was an exhibition titled "A Year in Normandy" at the Musée de l'Orangerie in Paris. It featured a 91-meter-long frieze made from 220 pictures he created during the solitary year of 2020. The work was a clear nod to 19th-century landscape masters, especially Claude Monet, whose works occupy neighboring rooms.

Hockney emphasized that nature is the source of everything. He recalled a marvelous sunset over the Seine estuary on his first day in Normandy, comparing its clarity to Van Gogh. He dismissed the idea that landscapes are no longer a relevant subject, stating that the landscape itself cannot be boring—only depictions can be boring, and he aimed to make them different.

Although known for his jet-set lifestyle and sartorial elegance, Hockney was always a hard worker. His love for nature and bright colors, reminiscent of his California scenes from the 1960s, found new expression in the Normandy countryside.