Image: Serpentine Galleries, London
Serpentine Galleries will extend evening opening for David Hockney’s exhibition 'A Year in Normandie and Some Other Thoughts about Painting' on six dates in August, giving visitors a chance to see the work as dusk falls over Kensington Gardens. The gallery said the later hours are being offered in the final weeks of the presentation at Serpentine North, where the exhibition runs until 23 August 2026.
The extended openings will take place on Friday 7 August, Saturday 8 August, Friday 14 August, Saturday 15 August, Friday 21 August and Saturday 22 August. On each of those days, Serpentine North will stay open until 9pm, rather than closing in the evening at its standard hours. Free tickets for the evening slots are available online, with walk-ups also welcome.
According to Serpentine, 'A Year in Normandie and Some Other Thoughts about Painting' is Hockney’s first exhibition at the institution. The presentation has been conceived in close collaboration with the artist and includes new paintings created specifically for the show. It also brings his panoramic frieze 'A Year in Normandie' to London for the first time.
The exhibition takes its title from Hockney’s work in Normandy, where the frieze captures the changing seasons at the artist’s former studio. Serpentine says the work was inspired by the Bayeux Tapestry and is presented in dialogue with the surrounding landscape of Kensington Gardens. The gallery’s own description frames the show as an invitation to slow down and notice the extraordinary within the everyday.
A related public art work, 'A Year in Normandie (Detail)', is also on view in Serpentine North Garden from 12 March to 20 September 2026. The gallery lists it separately from the main exhibition and describes it as a public art mural by Hockney.
The late openings sit alongside other programme activity linked to the exhibition, including a Relaxed Hours session on 21 July and a Family Day on 19 July. Serpentine says the Relaxed Hours event is intended for visitors who may benefit from a more spacious, gentle environment, while the Family Day will include collage, drawing and walking-based activities inspired by Hockney’s work.
Hockney, born in Bradford in 1937, is described by Serpentine as one of the most influential artists of our time. The gallery’s exhibition page notes that his career has spanned painting, photographic collages, set design, drawing and printmaking, and that he recently received the Officier in France’s Légion d’Honneur award in 2026.
