Back to: Paper Pools
David Hockney's Piscine Avec Trois Bleus (Paper Pool 6), 1978, is another work from the Paper Pools series, continuing the artist's exploration of swimming pools as studies of light, colour and reflection. Executed in coloured, pressed paper pulp, the composition is dominated by three distinct shades of blue that describe the depth and movement of the pool water. Speckles of white paper pulp nearest the viewer evoke shimmering reflections across the surface, while a yellow diving board stretches through the centre of the composition. The pool is framed by a purple border and set against a dark black and green speckled hedgerow, creating a vivid contrast that enhances the work's geometric simplicity and vibrant colour palette.
Created in collaboration with Kenneth Tyler at Tyler Graphics, Piscine Avec Trois Bleus (Paper Pool 6) demonstrates David Hockney's pioneering use of coloured, pressed paper pulp as an artistic medium. By constructing the composition from coloured paper fibres rather than applying ink to paper, Hockney achieved a richly textured surface that captures the changing movement of water and the effects of reflected light. Unlike some other works in the Paper Pools series, the total number of unique variants of Piscine Avec Trois Bleus (Paper Pool 6) has not been conclusively documented, making its production history less well understood. Even so, the work remains an important example of Hockney's experimental approach to printmaking and his enduring fascination with the swimming pool as one of the defining subjects of his artistic career.
