Plengeoit Avec Ombre (Paper Pools 13): Paper Pool print by David Hockney

  • Plengeoir Avec Ombre, 1978 unique work by David Hockney

    Plengeoir Avec Ombre (Paper Pool 13) 1978

    Pressed paper pulp, 72 x 85.5 in

    Unique work

    ©David Hockney

    Back to: Paper pools

     

    David Hockney's Plongeoir Avec Ombre (Paper Pool 13), 1978, continues the artist's exploration of swimming pools as studies of light, movement and perspective within the celebrated Paper Pools series. Executed in coloured, pressed paper pulp, the composition is centred on a vivid yellow diving board that anchors the image and draws the viewer's eye across the pool. Set against the soft pastel tones associated with the Californian landscape, the work balances bold geometric forms with subtle colour variations. Unlike some of Hockney's calmer pool scenes, the water here is animated with rippling patterns, creating a dynamic surface that captures the changing effects of sunlight and reflection.

     

    Created in collaboration with Kenneth Tyler at Tyler Graphics, Plongeoir Avec Ombre (Paper Pool 13) demonstrates David Hockney's innovative use of coloured, pressed paper pulp to recreate the movement of water. The textured paper fibres produce undulating reflections that cause the diving board's shadow and the pool floor markings to appear gently distorted beneath the surface, reinforcing the illusion of moving water.

  • "The world is very, very beautiful if you look at it. But most people don't look very much."

     

    - David Hockney

    Although the Paper Pools are often discussed alongside David Hockney's prints, their production was fundamentally different from traditional printmaking. Working with Kenneth Tyler and his expert papermakers at Tyler Graphics, Hockney developed each composition using coloured paper pulp that was poured and shaped by hand into specially prepared moulds. Rather than transferring an image from a printing plate, areas of colour were built directly into the sheet as it was formed, creating works with exceptional depth, texture and luminosity. This innovative process blurred the distinction between printmaking, papermaking and relief sculpture, making each Paper Pool a unique work of art while demonstrating Hockney's continual desire to expand the technical possibilities of contemporary printmaking.