| Artist: | David Hockney (British, b. 1937) (1937 - ) |
|---|---|
| Title: | Conversation in the Studio, from Moving Focus, 1984 |
| Series: | Moving Focus, 1984 |
| Medium: | Lithograph in colors on TGL handmade paper. |
| Image Size: | 24 x 29 in (61 x 73.7 cm) |
| Sheet Size: | 24 x 29 in (61 x 73.7 cm) |
| Edition: | Numbered from the edition of 45 in pencil in the lower left. |
| Signature: | This work is hand signed by David Hockney (Bradford 1937-) in pencil in the lower right. |
| Item # | W-101993 |
David Hockney, Conversation in the Studio, from Moving Focus, 1984, is one of the most playful and visually engaging interior scenes from David Hockney’s landmark Moving Focus series, created during one of the most innovative periods of the artist’s career. Executed in 1984, the work transforms a simple arrangement of chairs, furniture, and architectural details into an imaginative exploration of space, perspective, color, and visual perception.
By the early 1980s, Hockney had become increasingly dissatisfied with the fixed viewpoint of traditional Renaissance perspective. Inspired by his photographic “joiners” and his continued investigation of how the eye naturally moves through an environment, he developed compositions in which several angles and moments of observation could coexist. The Moving Focus series became one of the clearest expressions of these ideas, bringing together interiors, portraits, architecture, and still life through constantly shifting viewpoints.
Despite its title, Conversation in the Studio contains no human figures. Instead, two chairs positioned opposite one another appear to engage in their own silent conversation, accompanied by a small table and two soft pouffes. Simplified windows, floor lines, and surrounding architectural details create a room that feels familiar yet deliberately unstable. Hockney’s primary palette and loose, almost childlike drawing style give the composition an immediate sense of warmth and humor, while its subtly distorted perspective encourages the viewer’s eye to move throughout the space.
Works from Hockney’s 1980s period are highly valued for combining recognizable domestic subjects with major conceptual and technical experimentation. Within the Moving Focus series, Conversation in the Studio is especially distinctive for its intimate scale, playful narrative, limited production, and original artist-designed frame. With a standard edition of only 45, signed impressions remain considerably scarcer than many of Hockney’s other graphic works.
Produced in collaboration with the legendary master printers at Tyler Graphics, Conversation in the Studio is a color lithograph printed on luxurious TGL handmade paper. Published by Tyler Graphics Ltd. in Bedford, New York, each impression bears the publisher’s blindstamp and was originally issued in a hand-painted wooden frame designed by Hockney. The full sheet measures approximately 24¼ by 29 inches, with the complete framed work measuring approximately 26½ by 31½ inches.
Museum Collections:
The significance of Conversation in the Studio is reflected by its inclusion in the permanent collection of:
National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
Its presence in this prestigious institution underscores the importance of both the Moving Focus series and Hockney’s innovative contributions to late twentieth-century interior art and printmaking.
This example, numbered from the exceptionally limited edition of only 45 and hand signed and dated by David Hockney, represents an outstanding opportunity to acquire one of the artist’s most playful and distinctive print editions. An additional 12 artist’s proofs were produced outside the standard edition. Combining rarity, historical significance, exceptional craftsmanship, and Hockney’s original hand-painted frame, Conversation in the Studio is an important work for serious collectors of modern and contemporary art.
David Hockney’s Moving Focus series, created between 1984 and 1986, is one of the most ambitious print projects of his career. Moving beyond traditional fixed perspective, Hockney used shifting viewpoints, fragmented forms, expressive drawing, and vivid color to explore how people experience subjects over time. Featuring portraits, interiors, still lifes, chairs, and views of the Hotel Romano Angeles in Mexico, the series was produced with Kenneth Tyler using innovative combinations of lithography, etching, screenprinting, collage, and handmade papers. Together, the works represent a major achievement in modern printmaking and a powerful exploration of movement, perspective, and memory.
The works in David Hockney’s Moving Focus Series (1984–1986) include: Conversation in the Studio, Tyler Dinning Room, Pembroke Studio Interior, Pembroke Studio with Blue Chairs and Lamp, Two Pembroke Studio Chairs, The Perspective Lesson, Amaryllis in Vase, Red Celia, Celia in Green Hat, Hotel Acatlan: First Day, Hotel Acatlan: Second Day, Hotel Acatlan: Two Weeks Later, Views of Hotel Well I, Views of Hotel Well II, Views of Hotel Well III, Walking Past Two Chairs, An Image of Gregory, An Image of Celia, An Image of Celia, State I, An Image of Celia, State II, An Image of Celia Study, Portrait of Mother I, Portrait of Mother II, Portrait of Mother III, An Image of Ken, White Porcelain, A Picture of Two Chairs, Number One Chair.
Catalogue Raisonné & COA:
David Hockney Conversation in the Studio, from Moving Focus, 1984 is fully documented and referenced in the below catalogue raisonnés and related texts. Copies will be enclosed as added documentation with the invoices that will accompany the sale of the work.
Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, catalogue number 260.
Tyler Graphics, catalogue number 271.
David Hockney (British, b. 1937)Conversation in the Studio, from Moving Focus, 1984 |
|
| Lithograph in colors on TGL handmade paper. | |
| from the edition of 45 in pencil in the lower left. | |
| hand signed by David Hockney (Bradford 1937-) in pencil in the lower right. | |
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