David Hockney and the joy of looking

Emma Crichton-Miller | Prospect | 17th January 2017

When critic Clement Greenberg said “it’s impossible today to paint a face”, de Kooning responded “that’s right, and it’s impossible not to”. Hockney, sympatico with de Kooning, has stayed true to figuration all his career. Tate opens a retrospective next week, marking the artist’s 80th year. For this writer his career hallmark is a “commitment to the present moment, and his [communication] of sensations and emotions.”