David Hockney – The Yosemite Suite – April 29 – June 18 2016

Artist: Hockney, David
Publisher: PACE Gallery
Price: £40 including postage in the UK
Publication Date: 2016
Edition: First edition
Size: 12mo
Condition: Fine

Condition:

The softcover catalogue of the exhibition held at PACE Gallery. Illustrated throughout. A fine copy.

David Hockney – The Yosemite Suite: A Brief Biography

Context and Genesis

The Yosemite Suite (2010) is a pivotal body of work within David Hockney’s late career, marking one of his earliest sustained uses of the iPad as a primary artistic tool. Created during visits to Yosemite National Park, the series comprises a group of digital drawings later printed as large-scale editions.

The project emerged at a moment of technological transition in Hockney’s practice. Having already experimented with iPhone drawing applications in 2009, he adopted the iPad for its larger screen and enhanced capacity for gesture and compositional complexity. This shift enabled a new form of direct, portable, and immediate image-making, analogous to plein air painting but mediated through digital means.

Structure of the Suite

The suite consists of 20 digital drawings, each depicting elements of the Yosemite landscape:

• Towering sequoias
• Granite cliffs and rock formations
• Forest interiors and winding paths
• Seasonal foliage and shifting light

These works were produced on-site, often completed rapidly to capture specific atmospheric conditions. They were subsequently printed using high-resolution inkjet processes, preserving the luminosity and clarity of the original digital files.

Technical and Formal Characteristics

Digital Drawing as Medium

Hockney utilised drawing applications that simulate traditional tools (brushes, pencils), yet the medium introduces distinct properties:

• Backlit colour: The iPad screen encourages vivid, high-saturation palettes
• Layering and undo functions: Allowing rapid revision and compositional adjustment
• Absence of physical resistance: Producing smooth, continuous lines

Importantly, Hockney embraces—not conceals—the digital nature of the works. There is no attempt to mimic oil painting or watercolour; instead, the images retain a graphic, screen-based clarity.

Line and Colour

The suite is characterised by:

• Bold contour lines, often outlining trees and rock formations
• Flattened spatial planes, reducing atmospheric depth
• Intense, sometimes non-naturalistic colour, heightening visual impact

This approach aligns with Hockney’s broader interest in constructing images rather than passively recording them.

Composition and Perspective

While rooted in direct observation, the compositions frequently depart from strict naturalism:

• Space is often compressed or tilted
• Multiple viewpoints may be subtly integrated
• Emphasis is placed on rhythmic patterning (tree trunks, foliage, shadows)

These strategies reflect Hockney’s long-standing critique of single-point perspective.

Thematic and Conceptual Analysis

1. Reimagining Landscape Tradition

The Yosemite Suite engages with a long history of landscape representation, particularly American traditions associated with the sublime. However, Hockney:

• Rejects romantic grandeur in favour of immediacy and accessibility
• Focuses on looking rather than spectacle
• Translates monumental scenery into intimate, handheld images

2. Technology and Perception

The use of the iPad is central to the series’ meaning:

• It enables real-time engagement with the landscape
• It collapses the distinction between sketch and finished work
• It foregrounds the role of technology in shaping vision

Hockney treats the device not as a neutral tool, but as an ակտիվ participant in image-making.

3. Time and Observation

Although each image appears instantaneous, the suite reflects accumulated observation:

• Repeated motifs across works suggest sustained looking
• Variations in light and colour indicate different times of day or weather
• The series as a whole constructs a temporal experience of place

4. Portability and Modern Plein Air Practice

Hockney effectively reinvents plein air painting for the digital age:

• The iPad replaces sketchbook and paintbox
• Works can be created, stored, and transmitted instantly
• The artist remains physically embedded in the landscape while working through a digital interface

Art Historical Positioning

The Yosemite Suite can be situated at the intersection of several traditions:

• Landscape painting (from Constable to the Hudson River School)
• Modernist colour and line (Matisse, Van Gogh)
• Contemporary digital art practices

What distinguishes Hockney’s contribution is the integration of these traditions with accessible consumer technology, expanding the definition of what constitutes a serious artistic medium.

Reception and Critical Interpretation

The suite was widely recognised as:

• A significant early example of tablet-based fine art
• Evidence of Hockney’s continued innovation in his seventies
• A demonstration of how digital tools can be used with serious artistic intent

Some critics noted the apparent simplicity of the images, but this is generally understood as deliberate—reflecting clarity of vision rather than technical limitation.

Significance within Hockney’s Oeuvre

The Yosemite Suite is a key transitional work:

• It consolidates Hockney’s move into digital drawing
• It precedes and informs larger projects such as The Arrival of Spring (2011)
• It demonstrates the viability of the iPad as a primary artistic medium

It also reinforces a central continuity in Hockney’s practice: a persistent enquiry into how we see, and how different tools shape that seeing.

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