DAVID HOCKNEY: Beneath the Surface - An Immersive Swimming Pool Exhibition
About this Event
BENEATH THE SURFACE: DAVID HOCKNEY
MODO presents Beneath the Surface, a major summer exhibition celebrating the life and work of David Hockney through his iconic swimming pool images, while exploring the enduring questions of perception, perspective, and ways of seeing that defined his career.
Opening on 1 July and running throughout the summer in Cambridge, the exhibition places Hockney's iconic swimming pool works at the centre of a new immersive and interactive gallery experience.
Alongside The Arrival of Spring in Normandy, visitors will encounter a playful and contemporary environment inspired by one of the most recognisable themes within Hockney's practice. Through installation, atmosphere and unexpected moments of discovery, Beneath the Surface invites visitors to look again at works that have become part of our collective visual culture.
"David Hockney spent a lifetime encouraging us to look more closely at the world around us. Beneath the Surface is an invitation to do exactly that. We hope visitors leave not only having enjoyed the work, but having discovered something new in the act of looking itself."
— Sally Clark, The Hockney Gallery Ltd, (MODO/Pentimento/Art & Culture Education C.I.C)
As part of the exhibition, MODO's Media Room will present In Memoriam, a short film reflecting on David Hockney's life, influence, and enduring contribution to the way we see the world. Presented alongside the exhibition, the film offers a moment to pause, reflect, and consider the questions that remained central to Hockney's work throughout his life: how we look, how we perceive, and how meaning is created through seeing.
While many details of the exhibition remain under wraps, Beneath the Surface promises an engaging and distinctive experience that combines art, perception, and participation in a uniquely MODO format.
Selected timed ticketed sessions are available. Funds raised through these sessions will support the work of Art and Culture Education CIC (ACE CIC), the educational organisation founded to challenge the systemic marginalisation of art within education and to champion art as a vital form of human thinking, perception, and innovation.
Developed by the team at MODO in collaboration with ACE CIC, the exhibition continues the gallery's commitment to creating accessible, thought-provoking experiences around art, perception, and contemporary culture.
Upon Arrival
A slower pace.
A different rhythm.
The building itself becomes part of the experience; sound, light, shadow, stillness.
Visitors enter in small, staggered groups, allowing space to adjust, observe, and settle.
The splash is not an ending.
It is the beginning of seeing differently.
The Media Room
A moment to pause.
To sit.
To allow the noise of the outside world to recede.
Here, a short film explores the stories, ideas, and questions beneath Hockney's celebrated swimming pool works, alongside In Memoriam, a reflection on the life, work, and enduring influence of David Hockney.
Before You Leave
Take a moment.
What changed between entering the gallery and now?
There is no right answer.
Only another way of seeing.
Created by MODO in collaboration with ACE CIC.
"David Hockney spent a lifetime encouraging us to look more closely at the world around us. Beneath the Surface is an invitation to do exactly that. We hope visitors leave not only having enjoyed the work, but having discovered something new in the act of looking itself."
— Sally Clark, Founder & Curator, The Hockney Gallery Ltd, (MODO/Pentimento/Art & Culture Education C.I.C)
Instagram: @nowmodo
Where is it happening?
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
GBP 27.80
