Bulletin

Reading the news over the past week has been a bleak experience. Humanity continues to divide itself along partisan lines on the basis of our collective imagination. Lines not perceptible from space that have long been carved out divide one nation with another and pit us against them. A deity which supposedly values all human life and teaches love and kindness towards our fellow man is ignored by those whose ideas and values our different to those who believe in it. A declaration of independence which claims that all men are created equal and have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness applies to all except those whose sexual orientation is different to what is considered normal.

Violence begets violence and hatred begets hate. Our world is becoming increasingly polarised. Political opportunism has been rife in the course of such events with one presidential candidate calling for more guns as a defence mechanism and a ban on immigrants from hostile countries. It is a troubling sign of the times that one of the front-runners to become a leader of the free world seems intent on building walls rather than bridges with its neighbours. Meanwhile in the UK we have been debating whether we wish to remain a part of the European Union and rather than debate key issues affecting an entire generation of people politicians on both sides of the debate have seemed intent on launching ad hominem attacks on each other.

I still believe that what unites us is greater than what divides us and this is no more apparent than here in London, the world’s greatest city and a global symbol of multi-culturalism, liberalism, freedom and tolerance. Last night thousands lined the streets and stood shoulder to shoulder with victims of terror in Orlando resolute in their message that hate cannot win.

Setting the pace, and just in time for the summer (?) and the Olympics in Brazil, is the current super-trend for sportswear. For men and for women, and from track-star zip-ups to slouchy strides, this represents a welcome and democratic change-up in our style and in our lives.

This summer, David Hockney makes a welcome return to the Royal Academy with a remarkable and masterful new body of work.

Embracing portraiture with a renewed creative vigour, he offers an intimate snapshot of the LA art world and the people who have crossed his path over the last two years.

Returning to Los Angeles in 2014 after the death of his assistant, he slowly began to return to the quiet contemplation of portraiture. Over the months that followed, he became absorbed by the genre and invited sitters from all areas of his life into his studio. His subjects – all friends, family and acquaintances – include office staff, fellow artists, curators and gallerists such as John Baldessari and Larry Gagosian.

Each work is the same size, showing his sitter in the same chair, against the same vivid blue background and all were painted in the same time frame of three days. Yet Hockney’s virtuoso paint handling allows their differing personalities to leap off the canvas with warmth and immediacy.

A must see. From this weekend. Essential to book.