Autumn Pool (Paper Pool 29): Paper Pulp work by David Hockney

  • Explore David Hockney's Autumn Pool, Paper Pool 29, a unique paper pulp work exploring reflection, colour and the innovative techniques behind the celebrated Paper Pools series.

    Autumn Pool, Paper Pool 29, 1978

    coloured and pressed paper pulp, 72 x 85.5 in 

    Unique work

    ©David Hockney

    Back to: Paper Pools

     

    David Hockney's Autumn Pool, Paper Pool 29, 1978 is one of the most serene works in the Paper Pools series, presenting a quiet swimming pool beneath an expansive reflected sky. Created in coloured, pressed paper pulp in collaboration with Kenneth Tyler at Tyler Graphics, the composition depicts a pale diving board extending towards a still pool framed by lavender paving and deep green planting. The water is rendered in broad gradients of blue, with soft cloud-like reflections stretching across the surface, creating a tranquil atmosphere that differs from the energetic ripples found in many of the other Paper Pools.

     

    Widely regarded as a unique work, Autumn Pool highlights Hockney's remarkable ability to convey mood through subtle shifts in colour and tone. The handmade paper introduces delicate variations across the surface, allowing the reflected sky to appear almost suspended within the pool. By simplifying the composition to its essential forms, Hockney encourages viewers to contemplate the relationship between water, light and reflection, demonstrating how even the quietest scenes can become compelling studies of perception.

  • "It is an interesting formal problem; it is a formal problem to represent water, to describe water, because it can be anything. It can be any colour and it has no set visual description."

     

    - David Hockney

    Reflection became an increasingly important theme throughout Hockney's swimming pool works. Rather than depicting the water itself, he often focused on what appeared on its surface, using mirrored skies, trees and changing light to blur the boundary between the pool and the landscape beyond. In Autumn Pool, this approach creates a calm, contemplative composition where reflection becomes the primary subject.