Piscine on Sprayed Blue Paper with Purple Top (Paper Pool 25): Paper pool work by David Hockney

  • Piscine on Spray Blue Paper with Purple Top (Paper Pool 25), 1978 by David Hockney

    Piscine on Spray Blue Paper with Purple Top (Paper Pool 25), 1978

    Coloured and Pressed paper pulp, 72 x. 85.5 in

    Unique work

    ©David Hockney

    BACK TO: PAPER POOL

     

    David Hockney's Piscine on Sprayed Blue Paper with Purple Top, Paper Pool 25, 1978 continues his exploration of the swimming pool as a subject of colour, light and perception. Created in coloured, pressed paper pulp in collaboration with Kenneth Tyler at Tyler Graphics, the composition depicts a tranquil swimming pool viewed from the end of a pale yellow diving board. A rich blue backdrop, deep green horizon and distinctive purple border frame the pool, creating a harmonious balance of cool tones that enhances the calm atmosphere of the work.

     

    Widely regarded as a unique work, Piscine on Sprayed Blue Paper with Purple Top demonstrates Hockney's ability to combine bold geometric forms with the tactile qualities of handmade paper. The textured paper pulp gives the water a softly mottled appearance, suggesting subtle reflections and gentle movement across the pool's surface. By stripping the composition back to its essential elements, Hockney encourages the viewer to focus on the changing effects of light and colour, reinforcing the swimming pool as one of the defining motifs of his artistic practice.

  • "I believe that the problem of how to depict something is… an interesting one and it’s a permanent one; there is no solution to it." 

     

    - David Hockney

    Throughout the Paper Pools series, Hockney explored how small adjustments in colour could completely transform the mood of a composition. In Piscine on Sprayed Blue Paper with Purple Top, the cool blue and violet palette creates a quiet, contemplative atmosphere, while the contrasting yellow diving board provides a striking focal point that guides the viewer's eye into the scene.