London’s Tate Modern will be transformed by a vast David Hockney exhibition in 2027 to celebrate the artist’s 90th birthday

In a sign that London can’t have too many interactive David Hockney events (no shade – we really do mean it), Tate Modern is set to turn its Turbine Hall into a massive, immersive tribute to the artist. Part of Tate’s 2027 programme, the exhibition is designed to mark Hockney’s 90th birthday and will precede Tate Britain’s career-spanning retrospective in the autumn.

The Turbine Hall extravaganza follows on from ‘Bigger and Closer’, the Hockney showcase that took over the Lightroom in King’s Cross in 2023. While that exhibition breathed new life into his paintings and iPad drawings of Los Angeles, Yorkshire and Normandy, the Tate’s summer 2027 celebration will home in on a very specific period in the artist’s career.

Back in 1975, when he lived in London, Hockney began creating sets for operas staged in some of Europe and America’s most prestigious opera houses. From the Royal Opera House to Glyndebourne Festival and New York’s Met Opera, the artist – a massive fan of the art form – covered ‘em all.

He did so for some 17 years, in which time he produced 11 set designs. Hockney worked on the likes of Alfred Jarry’s Ubu Roi (staged at the Royal Court Theatre) and Richard Strauss’s Die Frau ohne Schatten (originally designed for a production in Los Angeles but actually first seen at London’s Royal Opera House in 1992). Proving his versatility and restless creativity (as if they were ever in doubt), the latter was designed with a distinct Pop Art sensibility. 

To pay tribute to this lesser-explored period in Hockney’s career, the Turbine Hall will be transformed into a vast, immersive opera experience, with the set designs projected onto the walls of the iconic space. Tate reckons it will offer punters ‘a thrilling experience of music and art in motion’.

Tate Britain’s exhibition, meanwhile, will feature more than 200 artworks, tracing the Bradford-born genius’ entire seven-decade career from the swinging ‘60s to more recent creations. Tate says: ‘The show will focus on the role that family, friends and lovers have played in Hockney’s visual storytelling, and how intimacy and human connection inform his art.’

Hockney once explained why he got into his operatic, 17-year side quest: ‘I wanted to design operas because I want to have something to look at.’ Come 2027, thanks to Tate, it looks like we’ll have the opportunity to do the same. 

The two London exhibitions that will mark David Hockney’s 90th birthday:

• Tate Modern: summer 2027
• Tate Britain: October 7 2027 – February 20 2028

ICYMI: The world’s biggest gallery for illustrations will open in London in May – and it’s just revealed its first exhibitions. 

Plus: One of London’s most creative restaurants is opening at the new V&A East Museum. 

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