David Hockney - Nottingham Contemporary

Nottingham has always been a forward thinking city, unhappy to be looked over due to its relatively small size. Its grand plans often work out, from the tram system to the latest and long awaited development of Nottingham Contemporary.

And what artist could better represent the cheeky nature of Nottingham than David Hockney. He understood Britain, Yorkshire and its quintessential reserved nature back in the 50s and 60s. His sexuality and tongue-in-cheek humour feature in his paintings, and the artwork description cannot help but bring a smile.

Life Painting for a diploma, (value: >£1million ), probably expresses his rebellion and humour best. Uninspired by the constrained nature of college life drawing, he paints a man from the front of a body building magazine and an anatomical skeleton. This satirical piece, is a personal favourite.

Many of his paintings feature naked men in positions which reference homosexuality, a brave move considering the illegal nature at the time. Many of the works are set in San Francisco and often in water. Water is possibly more of a notable theme than homosexuality as his main experimentation is the manner in which he paints the water.