DAVID Hockney is considered to be one of the most influential artists of the 20th century. This weekend a new exhibition at the Walker Art Gallery brings together a unique selection of paintings and prints, which chart the early development of the Bradford born, globally renowned artist.
You can even dress up as him, as this famous popstar from the 1980s did at the private view last night. Any idea who?
The show, part of the current Homotopia Festival, features work from the Walker’s own collection, including Peter Getting out of Nick's Pool, which won the John Moores Painting Prize in 1967, together with key pieces from the Arts Council Collection and other loans, the exhibition explores Hockney’s early influences.
With almost 40 pieces on display dating between 1960 to 1978, the exhibition is an insight into Hockney’s prodigious talent which was evident even as a student.
Through recurring obsessions such as the evolving references to his own homosexuality, depictions of the reflective qualities of water and his persistent return to portraiture, the exhibition reveals how his style, which flourished during the 1960s, had changed dramatically by the early 1970s.
*David Hockney Early Reflections, Walker Art Gallery, William Brown St, Liverpool 3. Daily until March 16 2014.
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Cultural food
THEY are billing it as THE biggest free food & drink event in Liverpool’s cultural calendar this year and it takes place on Saturday at Sefton Park’s Palm House.
The ‘Cultural Food Feast’, organised as part of Merseyside Black History Month (that's this one) has hired eight professional catering firms to provide free, healthy "cultural" food throughout the day as a means of promoting cultural diversity.
More than 3,000 people are expected to turn uo in the park and there's not just food but children’s activities, stalls and further entertainment provided by a host of local performers and DJs.
Cultural Food Feast 2013, Sefton Park Palm House, Liverpool, Sat Oct 12, 2013, 12noon-6pm. Free.
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The Office
When working 9-5 becomes all about staying alive What happens when office politics get out of hand?
If you’ve ever worked somewhere and wondered, ‘How did I end up here with these people!?’ then Letter-headed Paper is the show for you.
Award winning playwright Grace O’Leary examines this universal experience in her latest production.
Sheila, Ken, Olivia and Amy work in the same office 9-5, Monday to Friday. Despite spending most of their time together, there's very little they really know about one another. When the future of their workplace comes into question, true colours start to be revealed and some difficult decisions must be made.
Inspiration for the Foraois Productions play came from Grace O'Leary's time working in offices where she encountered people and situations she felt had to be written about. Set in the office of a national cement manufacturer, the story explores the various dynamics of work place relationships and the strains created by office politics.
*Letter-headed Paper, Lantern Theatre, Blundell St, L3. Saturday Oct 12, 8pm. 8.00pm Tickets: £8.50, here or call 0151 703 0000