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David Hockney
Pool Made with Paper and Blue Ink for Book, from Paper Pools, 1980Lithograph in colours, on Arches Cover paper, the full sheet48.2 x 64cm357/1000Copyright The ArtistPaper Pools is a celebrated series of works created in 1978 by British artist David Hockney in collaboration with master papermaker Kenneth Tyler at Tyler Graphics. The series transforms the familiar imagery of swimming pools - an enduring motif in Hockney’s work - into innovative hand-made paper artworks.Literature
T. 269, M.C.A.T. 234Produced using coloured pulp rather than traditional printmaking inks, each piece was formed by pouring pigmented paper pulp directly into moulds, allowing colours and shapes to merge within the fibres of the paper itself. This process created richly textured surfaces and soft, painterly edges that evoke the movement and light of water.
The works depict stylised pools, diving boards, shadows, and surrounding architecture, capturing the bright atmosphere and geometric clarity associated with Hockney’s depictions of California. Through this experimental technique, Paper Pools bridges painting, printmaking, and sculpture, pushing the boundaries of what works on paper can achieve.
The series is widely regarded as one of Hockney’s most technically inventive bodies of work and a landmark collaboration in contemporary papermaking, demonstrating how material experimentation can expand the visual language of modern art.
