David Hockney’s Largest Exhibition Ever Takes Over Paris

Installation view of “David Hockney 25,” on view at Fondation Louis Vuitton. (Photo: Marc Domage)

Across his storied career, David Hockney has staged countless exhibitions, but his newest at the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris might be his most ambitious. Open for only one more month, David Hockney 25 gathers more than 400 of the artist’s work, encompassing 70 years of his creative output. Throughout, Hockney’s modernist paintings, evocative portraits, new digital art, ethereal landscapes, and immersive spaces all converge, offering an unprecedented glimpse into the artist’s practice.

David Hockney 25 unfolds across the entire museum and in several sections, beginning with his most emblematic works from the 1950s to the 1970s. Here, Hockney’s 1967 masterpiece A Bigger Splash makes an appearance, as well as Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures) from 1972. Both paintings reveal a uniquely Californian atmosphere, one grounded in optimism, warmth, desert modernism, and a quiet simplicity. These early pieces may set the mood for David Hockney 25, but, as its title suggests, the exhibition concentrates primarily on the past 25 years. During this time, Hockney spent most of his time in Yorkshire, Normandy, and London, reflected through such landscapes as May Blossom on the Roman Road and Bigger Trees near Water.

Fittingly, the Fondation’s first floor is dedicated to Normandy, where Hockney’s 220 for 2020 series spreads across the entirety of Gallery 5. Created exclusively on an iPad, the series captures the gradual transition between seasons, with minute variations in light and tone conveying how, day by day, a landscape can slowly shift toward a new expression. Another room features more of Hockney’s digital art, showcasing some 60 portraits of friends and relatives produced both on iPad and with acrylic. By displaying these iPad portraits in frames, which is otherwise a highly traditional format, the Fondation raises intriguing questions about digital art as a medium, and how it may still conform more closely than expected to established conventions in art history.

On the uppermost floors, David Hockney 25 becomes even more immersive. These galleries are completely doused in Hockney’s vibrant world, referencing the artist’s enduring fascination with performance art. In Gallery 10, for instance, Hockney reinterprets the set designs he has been creating since the 1970s in what the Fondation calls a “new polyphonic creation,” in conjunction with 59 Studio. Another room, the museum continues, is transformed into a dance hall, mirroring Hockney’s “own home where musicians and dancers are regularly invited to perform.” Closing out the exhibition are new works from the past year, including enigmatic paintings inspired by Edvard Munch and William Blake.

“This exhibition means an enormous amount because it is the largest exhibition I’ve ever had—11 rooms in the Fondation Louis Vuitton,” Hockney remarks. “Some of the very last paintings I’m working on now will be included in it, and I think it’s going to be very good.”

Very good, indeed. David Hockney 25 will be on view at the Fondation Louis Vuitton through August 31, 2025.

David Hockney’s largest exhibition to date has taken over the entirety of the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris.

Installation view of “David Hockney 25,” on view at Fondation Louis Vuitton. (Photo: Marc Domage)

“A Bigger Splash,” 1967. (Courtesy Tate, U.K.)

Installation view of “David Hockney 25,” on view at Fondation Louis Vuitton. (Photo: Marc Domage)

“May Blossom on the Roman Road,” 2009. (Photo: Richard Schmidt)

“Christopher Isherwood and Don Bachardy,” 1968. (Photo: Fabrice Gibert)

“After Munch: Less is Known that People Think,” 2023. (Photo: Jonathan Wilkinson)

Installation view of “David Hockney 25,” on view at Fondation Louis Vuitton. (Photo: Marc Domage)

“Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures),” 1972. (Photo: Art Gallery of New South Wales / Jenni Carter)

Gathering more than 400 works across seven decades, David Hockney 25 offers an unprecedented glimpse into the artist’s creative output.

“Bigger Trees near Warter or/ou Peinture sur le Motif pour le Nouvel Age Post-Photographique,” 2007. (Photo: Prudence Cuming Associates)

“Portrait of My Father,” 1955. (Photo: Richard Schmidt)

Installation view of “David Hockney 25,” on view at Fondation Louis Vuitton. (Photo: Marc Domage)

“Winter Timber,” 2009. (Photo: Jonathan Wilkinson)

Although it includes the artist’s earlier work, the heart of the exhibition concentrates on the past 25 years.

Installation view of “David Hockney 25,” on view at Fondation Louis Vuitton. (Photo: Marc Domage)

“After Blake: Less is Known that People Think,” 2024. (Photo: Jonathan Wilkinson)

Installation view of “David Hockney 25,” on view at Fondation Louis Vuitton. (Photo: Marc Domage)

Installation view of “David Hockney 25,” on view at Fondation Louis Vuitton. (Photo: Marc Domage)

Exhibition Information:
David Hockney
David Hockney 25
April 9–August 31, 2025
Fondation Louis Vuitton
8 Av. du Mahatma Gandhi, 75116 Paris, France

Fondation Louis Vuitton: Website | Instagram

My Modern Met granted permission to feature photos by Fondation Louis Vuitton.

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