Number One Chair, 1985-86, from David Hockney’s Moving Focus series, centres on a brightly coloured wicker chair positioned prominently within a distorted interior space. Rendered in vivid orange tones, the chair features woven arms, legs and framework, while the central cushion is decorated with pink floral patterns and green leaves that introduce a softer decorative contrast. Hockney places the chair directly in the foreground, allowing it to dominate the composition against a background of fragmented floorboards and lightly sketched furniture. The exaggerated perspective and angular flooring create a shifting sense of space that reflects the artist’s continued experimentation with perception and spatial construction during the mid-1980s.
In the background, simplified tables, a chair and a stool are loosely drawn through fine brown linear marks, while vases holding drooping leaves and flowers appear as gestural forms across the upper section of the composition. The surrounding interior is rendered with sketch-like etched lines that resemble brown ink, contrasting with the richer colour and texture of the central chair. Combining lithography and etching on HMP handmade paper, Number One Chair balances decorative detail with expressive drawing, highlighting Hockney’s interest in everyday domestic objects and their transformation through fragmented perspective and colour.
