Sometimes you just met one person and it felt as if you two have known each others for a long time, and that’s exactly how I feel about David Hockney – An renown English artist famous for his vibrant and colorful artworks. I first saw his book in a small art shop in Shanghai last Spring.

“Spring can not be canceled.”

Blue, he is full of colorful blue. The shirt he dressed, the table and the room he sets up. Sky blue, in basketball term, the north carolina kind of blue. And then there goes the blue swimming pool piece and the big blue surfing waves, immediately caught my eyes.

“I found him an interesting person.”  

Through his works, his words, and the chosen subjects, he has that curious eyes of five years old. He never stops learning and re-inventing himself ever, and from the exhibit I visit last month – Paper Trails in Modern Art Museum Shanghai, I came to learn more about his journey.

He lives in two completely different places for the majority of his life – London, UK, for his study, and Los Angeles, the US, for his studio. One with british class and the other is famous for the cali sunshine.

 It feels familiar, despite all the differences. 

“And I can resonate.”

“We can live many different lives in one life. We can have multiple identities in different occasions through different cultures, languages, and interactions. Everything is about perspectives. And when you put yourself into that particular occasion, you live and act accordingly.”

“In a nutshell, it is all about perspectives in context.” I found this particularly profound while traveling by immersing myself into a novel culture and foreign surroundings. It’s exciting. It feels rejuvanating.”

Thanks to the technology, the world we live today is more connected than ever before, but in a way, it’s also the most me-two era. What’s trendy, what’s hot, what’s the popular, who is wearing what, all that. Actually lacks of point of views.

If it was 5 years ago, I probably wouldn’t have comprehended his work and created that much connections with him. I don’t know, I see things and live in a much more colorful lives these days.

“It’s about mindset and the choices.”

I like the color he uses, it feels welcoming and full of energies. I like the subjects he chose and the way he portraited, he has always been experimenting and he obviously has a lot of fun with those. He even learned using iPad to create post 60s, isn’t that great?!

His artworks creates an access for us to see things from his point of views. He has evolved quite a bit. It took me 30 miniatures reading through his entire life milestones in the exhibition. The more I read, the more I nodded, and the more I smiled.

“Hi mate, how are ya!”

2024 August, second encounter with you, and it was a great session, mate!

I took some of your point of views with me from your exhibit, mate. And I also got some pieces of great life advices you shared.

And I think it was incredibly beautiful.