Movies Similar to David Hockney: A Celebration

David Hockney: A Bigger Picture(2009)

Filmed over three years, the documentary is an unprecedented record of a major artist at work. It captures David Hockney's return to England after 25 years in California. As he approaches the age of 70, he decides to re-invent his painting from scratch, working through the seasons and in all weathers out in the Yorkshire countryside - ending up with the largest picture ever made outdoors. It is at once the story of a homecoming and an intimate portrait of what inspires and motivates today's greatest living British-born artist as time runs out. Winner of Best Essay award at the International Festival for Films on Art in Montreal and nominated Best Arts Documentary by the Grierson and International Emmy Awards. Premiered on BBC1, the documentary appears in a special extended 60' version.

Where the Universe Sings: The Spiritual Journey of Lawren Harris(2017)

Admirers of Harris' paintings discuss his place in the pantheon of Canadian artists.

Francis Bacon: A Brush with Violence(2017)

In this unique, compelling film, those who knew him speak freely, some for the first time, to reveal the many mysteries of Francis Bacon.

Ukiyo-e: Floating World Images(2008)

400 years ago, in Japan, a revolutionary art was born and would influence the greatest Western artists of the late nineteenth century, the Ukiyo-E "floating images of the world." A wonderful trip in a world of beauty and discovery. The concept and objectives of this documentary are, on the one hand, to show, teach and discover Japanese art (Japanese stamps and prints) and, on the other hand, to demonstrate the influence of Japanese stamps on Western modern art, showing in comparison some of the Most famous paintings (impressionism or paintings by Van Gogh).

Hermitage: The Power of Art(2019)

Habiter le mouvement (un récit en 10 chapitres)(2019)

Schama on Rembrandt: Masterpieces of the Late Years(2014)

Simon Schama explains the style, theme and concept of Rembrandt's late masterpieces.

Irina Hale - The Gaze of a Child(2023)

Dreams Are Colder Than Death(2014)

What does it mean to be Black in America in the 21st century? The recently formed Black American film group TNEG™ has set out to elucidate this very question. Hearing from the likes of fine artist Kara Walker and musical artist Flying Lotus, the film is based on a deceptively simple approach -- asking a refined list of black 'specialists' as well as 'uncommon folks' questions about what they think, and more importantly as lead director Arthur Jafa states, 'What they KNOW' -- the film is an unprecedented 'stream of the black consciousness' and a strikingly original and rarefied look at black intellectual and emotional life. What's so unorthodox about this simple approach is that the interviews were recorded separately from the images in the film. What results is a breathtaking, kaleidoscopic look of American black life from the dawn of three original filmmakers.

I Needed Color(2017)

Jim Carrey exhibits his talent as a painter and reflects on the value and power of art.

Ama Como a Estrada Começa(2006)

The life and work of painter Mário Cesariny de Vasconcelos (1923-2006), one of the most important artists of the portuguese surrealist movement, both in literature and the visual arts. Includes statements from the artist, his friends, and scholars of his artistic oeuvre. A documentary originally exhibited on the day of his death at the age of 83.

The Renaissance of Mata Ortiz(2010)

The Emmy-winning story of how an American treasure hunter and a Mexican artist transformed a dying desert village into a home for world-class art.

Shunga: The Lost Japanese Erotica(2023)

In the foundation of the culture of Japanese MANGA and animation, there lies the humor filled art form, shunga. Shunga is a type of Japanese art by famous ukiyo-e artists of the Edo Period, such as Utamaro, Hokusai, and Kiyonaga, but the artform’s development was thwarted by social norms that tabooed sex. The film Introduces the world of shunga through enthusiasts - collectors, curators, and scholars, including Andrew Gerstle who inspired The British Museum’s historical shunga exhibition in 2013 and Michael Fornitz who owns an auction house in Denmark. Exploring the significance of shunga by analyzing it from historical, cultural, artistic and contemporary female points of view.

Drawing the Line: A Portrait of Keith Haring(1989)

Short documentary about artist Keith Haring, detailing his involvement in the New York City graffiti subculture, his opening of the Pop Shop, and the social commentary present in his paintings and drawings.

Make Me Famous(2023)

An investigation of Edward Brezinski, an ambitious, charismatic Lower East Side painter hell-bent on sucess, who thwarted his own career with antics that roiled NYC’s art elite. Brezinski’s quest for fame gives an intimate portrait of the art world’s attitude towards success and failure, fame and fortune, notoriety and erasure.

Peter Monaghan: A Portrait(2012)

This documentary features a kinetic artist who creates vibrant mixed media works that push the boundary between 2D and 3D.

The Body as Matrix: Matthew Barney's Cremaster Cycle(2002)

With the five-part Cremaster Cycle of films, multi-award-winning artist Matthew Barney invented a densely layered and interconnected sculptural world that surreally combines sports, biology, sexuality, history, and mythology as it organically evolves. In this program, Barney, Guggenheim curator Nancy Spector, and others deconstruct the Cycle’s filming and subsequent translation into sculptural installations. The locations, characters, and symbols that organize the Cycle films; the Cycle installations as spatial content carriers and extensions of the performances; and objectification of the body and undifferentiated sexuality are addressed, as are the intricacies of costuming, makeup, and sculpting with Barney’s signature materials: plastic, metal, and Vaseline.

Once upon a time... "I, Daniel Blake"(2021)

The documentary, filmed in England in autumn 2020, sheds light on the genesis and background of the social drama.

Botticelli, Florence and the Medici(2021)

Documentary on the art and culture of Florence in 15th century Tuscany and, in particular, the work of Eary Ranaissance painter Sandro Botticelli (1445-1501).

1/57: Experiment with Synthetic Sound (Test)(1957)

Mostly dark, rejecting images which are repeated. A stone wall, the chamber of a revolver which is, at first not recognizable, a close-up of a cactus. The duration of the takes emphasises the photographic character of the pictures, simultaneously with a crackling, brutal sound. (Hans Scheugl)