Exhibition marking the 60th anniversary of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Belgrade
📍 Museum of Contemporary Art, Belgrade
📅 From June to August 12, 2025
In 1970, a young David Hockney held a solo exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Belgrade—an early indication of his global reach and a moment of lasting importance in the Museum’s history. Now, more than five decades later, Hockney returns, this time through the powerful legacy of his work and the radical evolution of his visual language.
The idea to reintroduce Hockney’s work to the Belgrade audience stems from a desire to highlight an artist who helped shape the Museum’s formative years. His early exhibition resonated far beyond its time, leaving a lasting imprint on the local art scene. This new show reaffirms the Museum’s ongoing commitment to presenting distinctive and avant-garde art to domestic, regional, and international audiences.
Born in 1937, David Hockney is one of the most influential and beloved artists of the 20th and 21st centuries. A central figure in British contemporary art and a tireless innovator, Hockney continues to push the boundaries of painting, drawing, photography, and digital media. His work bridges classical artistic traditions with bold experiments in perspective, color, and technology.
Whether depicting the intimacy of human relationships, the play of light in California swimming pools, or the changing seasons of the English countryside, Hockney’s art is driven by a deep commitment to seeing—and to opening up new ways of seeing for others. His embrace of the iPad, iPhone, and digital drawing as professional artistic tools has expanded the language of contemporary art, inspiring generations to rethink how we create and share visual experiences.
Hockney’s influence transcends media and geography. He has exhibited in the world’s most prestigious museums, authored groundbreaking theoretical reflections on vision and perception, and redefined the modern portrait and landscape. From early etchings to immersive digital environments, each phase of his career invites viewers into a world of vivid color, clarity, and constant reinvention.
From Paper to Screen offers a unique insight into Hockney’s decades-long artistic journey—from early drawings and etchings of the 1960s to his most recent iPad works. By merging classical drawing skill with contemporary digital experimentation, the exhibition creates a dialogue between past and present, analog and digital, material and immaterial. It prompts us to reconsider the role of the artist in an era of technological transformation—and to reflect on how the very act of seeing has evolved.
We are honored to share this exhibition with our audience, as we renew a cultural connection that has lasted over half a century and once again welcome the visionary work of David Hockney to Belgrade.
The exhibition is realized with the generous support of the British Council, which continues to foster cultural exchange and connect the artistic scenes of the United Kingdom and Serbia.
Special thanks to the artist, his studio, the British Council in London and Belgrade, the UK Embassy in Serbia, Martin Gayford for his contribution to the exhibition catalogue, and to all whose dedication made this exhibition possible.
Photo: Foto 5 Dejvid Hokni, Čovek u muzeju (ili U pogrešnom ste filmu), 1962. Ulje na platnu 147.3 x 152.4 cm, Kolekcija Britanskog saveta, © David Hockney
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