The Easel

3rd March 2020

David Hockney: Drawing from Life review – stripping subjects down to their gym socks

Jonathon Jones | The Guardian | 26th February 2020

A few critics’ quibbles (too many Hockney shows, “the polished sweetness of Ingres”) don’t reflect the majority view. “Postwar art’s greatest draughtsman” says one. This writer agrees. “Hockney is a graphic master … the most dazzling display of his art I have ever seen. The intensity of Hockney’s self-inspection, fag in mouth, bears comparison with Rembrandt.”

25th February 2020

Hammer Museum’s ‘Paul McCarthy: Head Space’ draws a revelatory picture of L.A. artist

Christopher Knight | LA Times | 13th February 2020

McCarthy’s own gallery describes his oeuvre as “anarchic”. So where should a retrospective focus? Hammer Museum chooses drawing, a constant in his long career. Surrealism and Expressionism were formative influences. Unifying McCarthy’s diverse output is his constant attention to one key theme: “overwhelming physical, psychological and emotional toxicity within a culture that elevates beastly male power above all else”.

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