David Hockney's Red Flowers and Green Leaves, Separate, May, 1988
- yartlondon
- Jul 22
- 2 min read
In February 1986, David Hockney began experimenting with a friend’s photocopier and quickly realised it functioned as a new kind of printing tool. Hockney began using the term “home-made prints” to describe the series he created using the copier, works that challenged the conventions of traditional colour printmaking.
Unlike the labor-intensive process of layering and registering each colour block with expert precision, Hockney’s method with the copy machine offered a more spontaneous and accessible approach.
The technique mirrored aspects of colour lithography: each colour was drawn on a separate sheet, which was then printed across the edition. After one colour was completed, the sheets were reloaded into the copier, and a new sheet with the next colour was placed on the scanning bed.
“With these copying machines, I can work alone, really, you have to work alone; there’s nothing for anyone else to do,” Hockney explained.
“And I can work with great speed and immediacy. This is the closest I’ve come in printmaking to the experience of painting: I can lay something down, assess it, adjust or revise it, within seconds. My fascination with the copier was, at its core, philosophical. I came to see it as both a printing press and a new kind of camera.”
Details: Hand-made print in colours executed on an office copier on two sheets on Arches 1988 Signed, dated and numbered by Hockney as well as blindstamped Edition of 70 Published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York 36 x 46 cm (sheet size) Framed Excellent condition
About David Hockney:
David Hockney (born 1937) is one of the most influential 20th century British artists. He has explored a diverse range of techniques over the years including painting, printmaking, drawing, set design, videography, photography and digital art. He was an innovative printmaker with technology early in his career which has gained recent traction again drawing on his iPhone and iPad. Hockney explores everything from still life and domestic scenes to portraits and landscapes, whilst also addressing themes in his own life such as sexuality. Hockney’s style is iconic and recognisable with its warm feeling and lively, colourful palette. In 2018, Hockney’s Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures) became the most expensive artwork by a living artist to be sold at auction when it sold in New York for $90 million. Hockney’s work is held in countless international collections and museums.
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