It was the summer of 1999 when I entered the galleries of the Royal Academy in London, where David Hockney first showed his series of works on the Grand Canyon. I remember there were two central rooms that had been taken over by the largest pieces. I was impressed. It was the first time I felt painting penetrate the vital space, where the distance between painting and physical space had been abolished. That feeling intensified when I took advantage of Hockney’s ingenuity. He had placed large vertical mirrors in the corners, and a pedestal in the centre of the room. Once on that pedestal, and with the help of the mirrors, nothing escaped the senses. You got the full sense of the magical plateau of painting; you became a part of it. A truly unforgettable sensation!

A.P.