The Japan Times - Contemporary art giant David Hockney dies aged 88

Tributes poured in for the 1960s pop art pioneer who established himself as a globally renowned painter and master draughtsman and kept painting, experimenting and exhibiting right up until his death.

"I think I've something to say to people -- that's why," he told the Daily Telegraph in October in his last major interview.

Lauding him as "one of the most important figures in contemporary art in both the 20th and 21st centuries", his publicist Erica Bolton said he died "peacefully at home" in London on Thursday, a month before his 89th birthday.

"His seven-decade career and prolific oeuvre was characterised by his multi-media approach in image making, an intellectual inquiry into the nature of depiction and perspective, and a sustained commitment to celebrating and portraying the world around him," her statement added.

Acclaimed worldwide, Britain made him a Companion of Honour in 1997. Earlier this year, Hockney became one of the few non-French citizens to be awarded the highest level of France's main civilian honour, the legion d'honneur.

"His huge achievement was to make serious painting look effortless," art historian Richard Morris said on X.

"He carried forward one of the most sustained investigations into vision, space and representation by any post-war artist. British art has lost a giant."

The Pompidou Centre in Paris -- which held landmark Hockney exhibitions in 1999 and 2017 -- said he was "creative to the end of his life by constantly renewing his ideas".

The works he leaves behind remain "dazzling, alive and eternal", it added.

- 'Bold' -

Born the fourth of five children in 1937 in Bradford, northern England, Hockney defied the conventions of post-war Britain, realising young that he was gay and wanted to be an artist.

A conscientious objector who did military service as a hospital orderly, he trained at the Bradford School of Art and then at London's Royal College.

"His early work demonstrated a bold stylistic range, and even then, he was recognised as a master draughtman and a rising star in British art," the college said in a tribute on Instagram.

He remained "a defining voice in art across his lifetime," it added, praising his "boundless curiosity" and "mastery of colour".

Hockney captured everything from carefree 1960s California -- where he moved to in 1964 -- to the bucolic landscapes of his native Yorkshire, telling The Telegraph he was "happiest when I'm painting".

In 2018, his iconic swimming pool picture, "Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures)" sold for $90.3 million in New York, setting a new auction record for a living artist. He was unseated by Jeff Koons' "Rabbit" a year later.

His portraits, in particular, were beloved.

"I try to get a likeness," he told the Telegraph. "But in the end, I don't care what the other person thinks of it, it's what I think of it that counts."

A spokeswoman for Prime Minister Keir Starmer called Hockney "one of Britain's most celebrated artists".

"His vivid, instantly recognisable work influenced generations of artists," she added.

- Defiant smoker -

Known for experimentation -- with printmaking, photography and stage design alongside painting and drawing -- Hockney adopted modern technology as it emerged.

He utilised iPads and even worked with developers to create custom-made apps, according to a National Portrait Gallery profile.

He also kept showcasing. London's Serpentine Gallery is currently holding his first exhibition there, conceived in close collaboration with the artist and featuring new paintings by him.

Future exhibitions at London's Tate and Oslo's Munch Museum were in development.

Tate Britain director Alex Farquharson said it would work with the artist's team to realise two projects planned for next year -- pointing out its 2017 Hockney exhibition was the most visited in the institution's history.

They include Tate Britain again exhibiting his seven decades of work and Tate Modern's Turbine Hall hosting a multimedia installation of his celebrated designs for opera sets.

"David's passing brings to a close an extraordinary body of work characterised by reinvention," Farquharson said.

"He touched so many, with his astonishing talent, his love for art and life, and his profound and unconventional insights. His work continues to influence our culture, far beyond the art world."

According to his publicist, he is survived by his long-time partner Jean-Pierre Goncalves de Lima, two brothers and "numerous nieces, nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews".

Hockney always retained his Yorkshire burr and was also a defiantly lifelong smoker, praising the pleasure it brought him. "He smoked up to the end," Bolton said.

K.Yoshida--JT