British Art Fair opens Hockney tribute at Saatchi Gallery

British Art Fair opened today at Saatchi Gallery in London with a tribute to David Hockney curated by Eleanor Ekserdjian. The show runs through 27 September and anchors a fair that pairs major British modern and contemporary names with emerging artists.

Why it matters: - British Art Fair is using a tribute to David Hockney to frame its 24-27 September run at Saatchi Gallery. - The presentation spotlights one of Britain’s best-known artists while positioning the fair as a major stop for Modern and Contemporary British art. - The fair’s mix of blue-chip names and rising stars gives collectors and visitors a single venue to track market leaders and newer voices.

What happened: - British Art Fair opened today at Saatchi Gallery in London. - British artist Eleanor Ekserdjian curated Hockney: A British Eye as a tribute to the late David Hockney. - The fair runs from 24 to 27 September. - The event showcases Modern and Contemporary British art.

The details: - Hockney: A British Eye follows Hockney from his autobiographical Royal College of Art drawings and paintings to his 1960s Los Angeles work. - The show highlights the way Hockney used color as a defining part of his artistic identity. - Ekserdjian gives space to Hockney’s work across multiple media, including painting, drawing, printmaking, photography and moving image. - The tribute includes Hockney’s etchings for A Rake’s Progress. - The presentation also recalls those works’ later transformation into three-dimensional opera sets for Glyndebourne in 1974. - The fair also features works by Howard Hodgkin, Henry Moore, Barbara Hepworth, Bridget Riley, John Craxton, Gwen John, Lynn Chadwick, Frank Auerbach, Annie Morris, Terry Frost, Tracey Emin, Evelyn Williams and Muriel Jackson.

Between the lines: - The tribute turns Hockney into a curatorial anchor for the fair, not just a namesake draw. - Ekserdjian’s framing emphasizes Hockney as an artist of range and experimentation, which broadens the show beyond a simple retrospective mood. - The fair is also signaling continuity in British art by placing Hockney alongside established modern figures and contemporary artists.

What's next: - British Art Fair continues at Saatchi Gallery through 27 September. - Visitors can expect the Hockney tribute to serve as one of the fair’s central attractions throughout the run. - The broader fair may help shape attention on the next generation of British art shown alongside these legacy names.

The bottom line: - British Art Fair is betting that Hockney’s legacy still has crowd power — and curatorial force — in the British art market.