A 140-page, hardbound, full-color catalogue, with a foreword by Peter Goulds and an essay by Lawrence Weschler, has been published by L.A. Louver together with David Hockney, on the occasion of this exhibition.

In 2002, following the publication of his book Secret Knowledge, in which he explored the use of optical projections in Western art from the time of Byzantium to Cézanne, David Hockney moved away from the camera and back towards the hand. In so doing, Hockney chose to paint in watercolour, a medium that he had rarely used previously. The watercolours in Hand Eye Heart are the result of Hockney’s extended visits to East Yorkshire during late 2003 and 2004. This landscape first engaged the artist’s imagination as a teenager when he worked the fields, stooking corn.

Hockney’s embrace of watercolour affords him the ability to capture the subtleties of the ever-changing weather patterns and diffused light of the northern landscape. Venturing out on long drives with paintbrushes and small pots of paint in hand, Hockney made small watercolour studies in a notebook. Later in the studio, he worked up the studies to large paintings, using single or double sheets of thick paper that support the swaths of watercolour paint and layering of colour.
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Selected articles
Fred Schruers. "Far from white-hot L.A., David Hockney embraces the cool vistas of his youth." Los Angeles Times, Sunday, January 30, 2005, p. E1.
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Pagel, David. "Rustic rides with David Hockney." Los Angeles Times, March 11, 2005, E34.
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