Hockney Pluck

SPOTLIGHT

David Hockney is a natural showman. His way of life is a famous performance—the dyed blond hair, the bright 'mab of frieric ‡ {be love affair with Los Angeles, His art .has t leisame theatrical flair. Over the yeprs; Hocknfey has actually put much; of his energy into designing stcpge sets for the opera, most recently;for Richdrd Strauss's ;'dork fairy tale Die Frau ohne Schaften, which Opened in London in November and comes toLhs Angeles next season. At first, Hockne/s fans considered this kind of work a sideline, ft's anything >ut. At heart Hockney is now a .brilliant theatrical designer, whose paintings resemblefantasftcol stage sets.

Hockney, of course, is also art-smart. Hisrnew Emmerich Gallery in New York, make many references to modernist painting. But their tion for the otherworldly places of the theatrical imagination. Like a stage set, the paintings have a sort of whimsical ffim^ibss, o dashed-off spirit peculiar to props. They convey the charm of plywood possing as^narble, of blue pasteboard summoning the sea,' they ndver fail to love the alchemy more than the gold. In The Eleventh Painting, the playful arabesques, which look like musical notes, dance the eye across a series of stages. The fairy-tale spaces of the work seem as flat as a backdrop—and as deep as a diva's" voice. This is almost a sung space.

MARK STEVENS