A monumental installation by David Hockney is set to go on view this spring at Turner Contemporary in Margate, as part of the gallery’s 15th anniversary programme. Measuring seven by ten metres, the work will transform the institution’s iconic floor-to-ceiling window in the Sunley Gallery, overlooking Margate’s seafront and the North Sea.
On view from 1 April to 1 November, the new window installation depicts a sunrise in Normandy, based on a digital painting Hockney made on an iPad in 2020. Illuminated after dark, the work will appear as a glowing beacon along the seafront, according to Clarrie Wallis, director of Turner Contemporary.
According to the gallery’s annual report, Turner Contemporary welcomed more than 322,000 visitors between 2023 and 2024 (year ending 31 March 2024), underlining its growing role as a cultural landmark on England’s southeast coast.
Opened in 2011, Turner Contemporary draws inspiration from the life and work of the 18th-century British painter J. M. W. Turner, who has also long been a key reference point for Hockney. In 2007, the Bradford-born artist co-curated an exhibition of Turner’s watercolours at Tate Britain in London.
