OMG, why? Why paid £23.1 million for this?

[YeOldeTrout]

Painting by David Hockney. It is so boring. Just why?

Do you want to know why or do you want us to agree?
David Hockney’s work will probably not depreciate in value. He’s an innovative and experimental painter who has produced a mammoth body of work. His work is shown in the worlds most important collections. This is probably his most iconic piece. It’s an investment at any price if you’re rich enough...

Of course there are better works .
Of course he commands higher prices because he’s a white man. But the art world is still fickle, and in times of economic instability and uncertainty people cling to what they know when investing in art. It’s all just about moving vast sums of money around.

God knows, it baffles me.

I mean at least ye olde oil paintings have some work put in, that could have been knocked up by a GCSE student on work experience for TUI.

I was expecting to see a house, not a painting! I guess it’s an investment piece, but I agree, a tad over-priced.

Couldn’t find a house for £23 million, but found a flat (not even a house!) for £20 million. It does have 11 bedrooms though.

£20 million flat

As an investment it might be worth that, given the totally bonkers nature of the art market these days. As a piece of art I agree it's dull as ditchwater. Anyone who thinks the material value of a painting in any way reflects artistic value is deluded. If Hockney stopped being flavour of the month the value of his work would plummet - see what happened to Damian Hirst. (Not that he has any reason to complain still!). It's a dark, cynical business.

Art is such a swizz. I swear the art scene was invented to give posh twats something to talk about at dinner parties.

Yeah I find his work so incredibly boring.

Well most art education up to now rests on myths of a bunch of men whose work we’re supposed to be in awe of but is technically not very astounding.
Van Gogh. Picasso. Hockney. Freud. Monet.
We can only change it by rejecting it from the roots.

I went to see his last exhibition at the RA, most of the work was done on an iPad, it was amazing. It looks boring because other people have followed him, he is an innovator and incredibly talented imho.

I think much of art opinion is seen guff, but not by those who speak it and they seem to have an ability to convince very wealthy people.

Yep! A joke really. A very expensive joke. Nothing but legal Money-laundering.

I like it

@Bezalelle brilliant comment

I am a huge Hockney fan and have been since I was a kid. I guess he’s marmite but that’s no reason to dismiss him as a painter.

The price of this painting is ridiculous, but that’s not Hockney’s fault, it’s the insane art market. He won’t get anything from the sale. As for remarking on him being “technically not very astounding” - eh? Have you seen his work up close? Mr and Mrs Clark and Percy, for example?

I love Hockney's work, but completely agree that no painting is worth 23 million.

It's boring

I love his work.

The swimming pool paintings showing the ripple water effects are beautiful.

If someone can afford it why not.

I could paint that lol. I've clearly missed my calling.

@Kernowgal yes...
I’ve seen his work up close many times.
The drawings, the paintings, the pulp paintings, photographs, the portraits, the IPad drawings...

I imagine the price of this one was stimulated by the recent $90m sale of 'Portrait of an artist' which also featured a swimming pool. I like David Hockney's work, but I don't think art can or should be judged by how much it sells for, because the forces of the art market are driven by investors and fashion rather than connoisseurs. But Hockney's paintings are not short of technical merit. They might look simple in style, but the composition is meticulous and that's why they stand out.

I think it's beautiful, but the price paid is bonkers.

I love Hockney. I'd pay a lot of money if I had it to own an original.

Good job we all have different taste.

I love Hockney. Wish I had the kind of money to invest in art

I love Hockney but not sure I'd pay that sort of money, even if I could afford to!

@FreckledLeopard you may not have enough to invest in a Hockney, but do remember that even Hockney was a student once :)
So you can invest in art, but you may have to wait longer for the return. Find your nearest art school.
Add yourself to the mailing list. Checkout shows, and become familiar with the work of emerging artists. Or choose a place. Develop an interest in art from some obscure location. Research it.. look into what students are making there. Go with what you instinctively love and buy direct from the artist only. Or feed art students in exchange for work!
Art is not only for the super wealthy.