The Serpentine Galleries has announced its first-ever exhibition dedicated to renowned British artist David Hockney, scheduled to open in March 2026 at the Serpentine North gallery. The highly anticipated show, running from March 12 through August 23, 2026, continues the widespread popularity of Hockney exhibitions worldwide and marks a significant milestone for the London-based institution.
The centerpiece of the exhibition will be Hockney's monumental work "A Year in Normandy" (2020-21), an impressive 90-meter-long frieze that captures the changing seasons at the artist's former studio in Normandy, France. This sweeping artwork draws inspiration from the historic Bayeux Tapestry, which coincidentally is scheduled to be displayed at the British Museum later next year. The massive frieze represents Hockney's ambitious attempt to document an entire yearly cycle through his distinctive artistic lens.
The exhibition will prominently feature Hockney's iPad paintings created during the COVID-19 pandemic, showcasing how the artist adapted to lockdown conditions while maintaining his creative output. According to a gallery statement, "His compositions combine flat areas of bold color with playful pop-like touches. As the days pass, lockdown lifts, and spring transitions into summer, then autumn and winter. Hockney didn't stop at painting spring, he captured the whole cycle of the year." These digital works demonstrate the artist's innovative use of technology and his ability to find artistic inspiration even during challenging circumstances.
Visitors will also experience Hockney's recent works including the "Moon Room," which the gallery describes as reflecting "his lifelong interest in the cycle of light and time passing." Additionally, the exhibition will showcase digital paintings from the artist's "Sunrise" body of work, offering audiences a comprehensive view of Hockney's recent creative evolution and his continued exploration of light, time, and natural phenomena.
Hockney exhibitions have consistently proven to be major crowd-pleasers, with his 2017 retrospective at Tate Britain attracting more than 478,000 visitors. The largest-ever exhibition dedicated to the British artist recently took over the entire Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris, drawing thousands of additional visitors and cementing his status as one of the world's most popular contemporary artists.
In related news, Annely Juda Fine Art has announced that the inaugural exhibition at its new London gallery in Hanover Square will also be dedicated to Hockney. This show, opening this winter from November 7 through February 28, will feature a series of new paintings completed within the past six months. According to the gallery's statement, "These very, very, very new paintings mark the most developed stage yet in Hockney's dedication to reverse perspective in paint." The recent canvases depict colorful interior scenes where Hockney "disrupts planar perspective and engineers multiple vanishing points in a single picture, bringing us closer to the lived experience of perception."
