Artists and cultural figures have reflected on the career and influence of David Hockney following the death of the British painter at the age of 88, describing an artist whose work shaped perceptions of modern life, technology and visual expression.

The responses highlighted the breadth of Hockney’s career, from his celebrated depictions of swimming pools and landscapes to his experiments with drawing, digital tools and new ways of representing space. Several artists said his approach influenced generations by presenting art as an open process of observation and exploration.

Artist Rachel Whiteread recalled first encountering Hockney’s work as a child, alongside other major modern artists. She said a television programme about him in the 1970s shaped her early understanding of what an artist could be.

“I remember seeing a TV programme about David in the 1970s as a young kid and thinking ‘wow, is that what being an artist is like?’” she said.Whiteread said Hockney appeared different from many artists of his generation because of his public presence and his willingness to embrace visibility.

She described him as someone who made the life of an artist appear accessible and energetic.“He was charismatic and fashionable and very out and proud,” she said, adding that he made being an artist look enjoyable and engaging.She also pointed to Hockney’s paintings of swimming pools in Los Angeles as among the works that had a particular impact on her.

She said she often thinks about his treatment of water when she swims, noting the complexity of his handling of light, depth and movement.“I actually think about him every time I go swimming,” she said. “It always astounds me how he painted water, and figures within water.”The pool paintings, created during his periods in California, represented a major phase of Hockney’s career.

Whiteread described them as distinct from the atmosphere of London and praised the way they captured layered surfaces and changing environments.She also highlighted his drawings, particularly his use of line and composition, saying they demonstrated his technical ability and his continuing commitment to visual experimentation.“He just never stopped painting,” Whiteread said.

“It was like he was breathing art.”Artist Jeremy Deller said Hockney’s influence extended beyond traditional painting and included his engagement with technology and public projects. Deller described him as a role model who remained active and curious throughout his career.“He humanised technology in a way that few have managed,” Deller said.

He recalled working with Hockney on a banner titled “The Unrepentant Smokers” for a procession in Manchester in 2009. Deller said the reaction from an anti-smoking councillor, who objected to the work, amused Hockney.Deller also referred to Hockney’s later immersive exhibition work, saying it demonstrated the artist’s continued interest in combining visual art with new forms of presentation.

Artist Tacita Dean pointed to Hockney’s influence on approaches to drawing and spatial representation. She said his work challenged traditional ideas of how images create a sense of place.Dean described Hockney’s immersive drawings as a significant contribution to contemporary art, saying they showed how lines could move beyond simply describing objects and instead create a sense of space.

“He created these immersive drawings that you could almost step into,” she said.She added that Hockney’s importance would take time to fully assess, but said his willingness to keep experimenting remained one of the defining aspects of his career.The director of Turner Contemporary, Clarrie Wallis, said Hockney’s work had played a major role in shaping public understanding of visual culture.

She said few artists had contributed as significantly to changing how people perceive the world around them.Hockney’s career was marked by a constant interest in new ways of seeing, whether through traditional painting, photography, digital technology or large-scale installations. His work often examined ordinary subjects, including landscapes, interiors and everyday objects, while exploring how images are constructed and interpreted.

The reflections from fellow artists focused on this continuing search for new perspectives. They described an artist who remained engaged with changing technologies and artistic methods while maintaining a strong connection to observation and drawing.For many who worked alongside or followed his career, Hockney’s influence was not limited to specific works or periods but was connected to his broader approach to making art.

His legacy, they said, lies in the way he expanded ideas about what painting could include and how audiences could experience images.

A major new collaborative exhibition across regional galleries in Britain is bringing long-overdue attention to women artists whose contributions have often been overlooked in traditional museum collections dominated by male names.

Titled Making Her Mark, the project brings together works by some of the country’s most celebrated female artists, including Tracey Emin, Barbara Hepworth, Laura Knight, Elizabeth Forbes, and Gillian Ayres.

The initiative is being shared between Penlee House Gallery & Museum, galleries in Worcester, and Kirkcaldy, creating a rare regional partnership focused entirely on correcting historical imbalance in artistic representation.

For many smaller galleries across the UK, collections have traditionally reflected centuries of inequality in the art world, where male painters and sculptors were more likely to receive commissions, institutional support, and lasting recognition.

As a result, many museum walls still tell a largely male story.At Penlee House Gallery & Museum in Penzance, that reality is especially visible. Known for its strong representation of the Newlyn School and Cornish art history, much of its permanent collection features male artists whose work shaped the region’s artistic identity.

But from this week, visitors entering the gallery will be greeted by something strikingly different.Displayed prominently above a marble fireplace is a bold and emotionally charged work by Tracey Emin, challenging viewers with the raw personal intensity that has made her one of Britain’s most discussed contemporary artists.

In a nearby room hangs a vibrant work by Barbara Hepworth, whose abstract forms and modernist vision helped define 20th-century British art.Together, the works create a conversation across generations from early pioneers to contemporary voices highlighting not only artistic excellence but also the barriers women faced in gaining recognition.

The exhibition also features pieces by Laura Knight, one of the first women elected to full membership of the Royal Academy, and Elizabeth Forbes, often considered one of the leading figures of the Newlyn School despite being historically overshadowed by her male contemporaries.

Textile artist Imogen Bright Moon also contributes to the exhibition, with contemporary tapestry work that adds another dimension to the project’s exploration of female creativity and artistic identity.Curators say the goal is not simply to celebrate famous names, but to encourage visitors to reconsider how art history itself has been written.

For decades, women artists were frequently treated as exceptions rather than central figures. Their work was often categorized as secondary, domestic, or decorative rather than serious fine art. Even highly accomplished artists found themselves remembered mainly in relation to male partners, schools, or movements.Projects like Making Her Mark seek to shift that narrative.

Rather than presenting women artists as a special category separate from the mainstream, the exhibition argues that they have always been central to British art they were simply not always given equal visibility.This rebalancing is especially significant in regional galleries, where local collections shape public understanding of cultural history.

By placing women’s work at the centre of these spaces, the exhibition challenges long-standing assumptions about whose stories deserve prominence.It also reflects a wider movement across museums and cultural institutions to reassess collections, acquisitions, and curatorial practices through a more inclusive lens.

Across Britain and beyond, galleries are increasingly revisiting archives, reattributing forgotten works, and acquiring art by women and other historically underrepresented groups. The process is not only about fairness but also about revealing a fuller and more accurate picture of artistic history.

At Penlee House, the presence of a contemporary Tracey Emin alongside earlier artists such as Barbara Hepworth and Elizabeth Forbes shows how the conversation spans centuries rather than belonging to a single era.It also reminds visitors that progress remains unfinished.

Despite major advances, women artists still face unequal representation in exhibitions, collections, auction prices, and critical attention. Recognition has improved, but parity remains distant.That is why curators describe Making Her Mark not as a conclusion, but as part of a continuing discussion.

The title itself suggests both artistic creation and historical correction women making their mark on canvas, sculpture, and textiles, while also finally making their mark in the institutions that preserve cultural memory.

For visitors walking through the galleries, the exhibition offers something more than visual pleasure. It invites reflection on absence whose work was missing, whose voices were muted, and how different the walls of museums might look if history had been written differently.

By bringing these artists together, Making Her Mark offers a small but powerful act of restoration.It suggests that the question is no longer whether women belong at the centre of British art history, but why it took so long for the walls to show it.