| Artist: | David Hockney (British, b. 1937) (1937 - ) |
|---|---|
| Title: | Two Pembroke Studio Chairs, from Moving Focus, 1984 |
| Series: | Moving Focus, 1984 |
| Medium: | Lithograph in colors on TGL handmade paper. |
| Image Size: | 18 1/2 x 22 in (47 x 55.9 cm) |
| Sheet Size: | 18 1/2 x 22 in (47 x 55.9 cm) |
| Edition: | Numbered from the edition of 98 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-101996 |
David Hockney, Two Pembroke Studio Chairs, from Moving Focus, 1984, is one of the most focused and visually inventive interior studies from David Hockney’s landmark Moving Focus series, created during one of the most experimental periods of the artist’s career. Centered on two contrasting chairs inside Hockney’s Pembroke studio, the work transforms familiar furniture into an engaging investigation of perspective, spatial movement, color, and visual perception.
By the early 1980s, Hockney had become increasingly dissatisfied with the fixed viewpoint of traditional Renaissance perspective. Influenced by Cubism, his photographic “joiners,” and his continuing study of how the eye moves through an environment, he developed compositions in which multiple viewpoints could exist within a single image. The Moving Focus series became one of the clearest expressions of these ideas, uniting portraits, interiors, furniture, and architecture through reverse perspective and constantly shifting points of view.
Rather than presenting the chairs from one stable position, Two Pembroke Studio Chairs places a simple yellow wooden chair beside a larger green wicker armchair, each appearing to lean and expand toward the viewer. Angular black, red, and white patterns fracture the surrounding interior, while the contrasting shapes and textures give each chair its own personality. The altered proportions and changing floor lines create a composition that feels both carefully structured and slightly unstable. The result is unmistakably Hockney: playful, intelligent, colorful, and visually engaging.
Works from Hockney’s 1980s period are highly valued for combining ordinary domestic subjects with major conceptual and technical experimentation. Within the Moving Focus series, Two Pembroke Studio Chairs is especially recognizable for its balanced arrangement, vivid color, and inventive treatment of familiar objects. Its limited production and close connection to Hockney’s exploration of multipoint perspective make signed impressions especially desirable.
Produced in collaboration with the legendary master printers at Tyler Graphics, Two Pembroke Studio Chairs is a color lithograph printed on luxurious HMP handmade paper. Published by Tyler Graphics Ltd., each standard-edition impression was signed and dated in pencil, individually numbered, and marked with the publisher’s blindstamp. The image measures approximately 15⅞ by 19¼ inches, with a full sheet measuring approximately 18¾ by 22 inches.
Museum Collections:
The significance of Two Pembroke Studio Chairs is reflected by its inclusion in the permanent collections of several internationally recognized museums, including:
Walker Art Center, Minneapolis
National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo
Its presence in these prestigious institutions 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 limited edition of only 98 and hand signed and dated by David Hockney, represents an outstanding opportunity to acquire one of the artist’s most distinctive and engaging print editions. An additional 18 artist’s proofs were produced outside the standard edition. Combining rarity, historical significance, exceptional craftsmanship, and one of the most inventive periods of Hockney’s career, Two Pembroke Studio Chairs 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 Two Pembroke Studio Chairs, 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 264.
Tyler Graphics, catalogue number 276.
David Hockney (British, b. 1937)Two Pembroke Studio Chairs, from Moving Focus, 1984 |
|
| Lithograph in colors on TGL handmade paper. | |
| from the edition of 98 in pencil in the lower left. | |
| hand signed by David Hockney (Bradford 1937-) in pencil in the lower right. | |
|
Sold View Available
|
|