Harry Styles shared a poignant tribute to the late artist David Hockney as he kicked off his 12-show Wembley residency.
Hockney, one of the most prolific and revered artists of his generation, died peacefully at home on 11 June at the age of 88, his representatives confirmed yesterday.
The artist painted Styles for his Drawing from Life exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery in 2023, capturing the musician in a bright yellow and orange striped cardigan.
Before Styles performed his single “Aperture” to the crowd at Wembley Stadium on Friday (12 June) evening, a quote from Hockney flashed onto screens around the venue.
“What an artist is trying to do for people is bring them closer to something, because of course art is about sharing,” the quote read.
“You wouldn’t be an artist unless you wanted to share an experience, a thought.”
Styles travelled to Hockney’s studio in Normandy to sit for the legendary artist, who later told British Vogue that he didn’t consider the former One Direction star’s fame, and instead sought to capture his essence during the sessions.
“I wasn’t really aware of his celebrity then,” Hockney said to Vogue in 2023. “He was just another person who came to the studio.”
The music producer Clive Davis, who has also sat to be painted by Hockney, suggested that the musician might be an interesting subject, and Hockney’s studio assistant then invited him along.
Styles, a long-time fan of Hockney’s work, told Vogue that “it was a complete privilege to be painted by him”, and hailed him for “reinventing the way we look at the world for decades”.
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The “Watermelon Sugar” singer is set to break two records with his 12 nights of Wembley shows, one for the most performances by any artists at the stadium in a single year, and another for the most Wembley shows played by a solo artist on one tour.
The current record for the latter was set by Taylor Swift, Styles’ ex-girlfriend, back in 2024, when she performed eight shows at Wembley for the UK leg of the Eras Tour.
In a four star review, The Independent’s Roisin O’Connor hailed Styles as “the consummate entertainer, a charisma factory who lights the place up better than any pyrotechnics”, commending his ability to “turn a cold concrete stadium into a warm, communal space”.