Pop Art Icon: Seeing the World Through David Hockney’s Eyes

David Hockney came from Bradford, a rainy industrial city in northern England, yet became a painter of light and vivid color. His platinum-blond hair and legendary suits made him instantly recognizable, but his work gave him a more lasting place in art history.

A new episode of the podcast “Eyes Closed,” hosted by Florian Illies and Giovanni di Lorenzo, looks at the British artist, who died this summer. Hockney’s bright clothes reflected the tones of Swinging London, although California soon drew him away from Britain.

In Los Angeles during the 1960s, he produced iconic paintings centered on confident male desire and the emerging American way of life. His curiosity never settled on one method. He explored the camera obscura, photography and, later, painting with his finger on an iPad.

Hockney looked at the world and painted what he saw. The combination of curiosity, humor and a desire for beauty made him one of the major artistic figures of the postwar era.