A space in Cambridge like no other for our winners expo. Come and celebrate the Cambridgeshire Plein Air Award 2026 and book your ticket now to attend the drinks reception on Friday 19th June. All artists attending the event at Histon Manor are invited for free but please do book in.

MODO is an emerging force in the contemporary gallery landscape, distinct in its dedicated focus on the work of David Hockney. Recognised as a leading destination for collectors, investors, and admirers seeking museum-quality works and focused guidance, MODO combines market awareness with a distinctive curatorial voice. With spaces in both Cambridge and London’s historic Piccadilly Arcade, the gallery provides access to a carefully curated selection of Hockney’s work across two key locations. Its partnership with Art and Culture Education CIC (Ace CIC) MODO also contributes to wider advocacy for access to Art for children, aligning its commercial success with a broader cultural mission.

MODO’s curated approach and market expertise make it an essential partner for anyone looking to invest in art with both confidence and purpose and turn a hobby into something more.

"MODO is proud to support the 2026 Cambridgeshire Plein Air Artist of the Year Award, and to host this year’s winning artists.

Plein air painting is not simply about working outdoors, it is about thinking in real time. It asks the artist to respond to light as it shifts, to time as it unfolds, and to perception as something active rather than fixed. These are questions that sit at the heart of David Hockney’s work, and as a gallery dedicated to his practice, we see a clear continuity between this tradition and his sustained exploration of seeing, whether in Yorkshire, California, or Normandy. Much of his work is grounded in this same direct engagement with the world, where observation becomes a form of enquiry.

This year’s works bring that process into focus. They are not just records of place, but evidence of attention, decisions made in the now, perception tested against reality.

We are particularly interested in the Young Artists category, where this way of thinking is still forming. What emerges here is not simply talent, but the early stages of cognitive development through art. This is where perception becomes active, where judgement begins to take shape, and where inventive thinking emerges. The ability to observe, question, select, and reinterpret is not separate from education, it is foundational to it. In this sense, these works are not endpoints, but evidence of thinking in motion, of agency beginning to form.

At MODO, we see this as part of a broader conversation. As a gallery dedicated to David Hockney’s work, we explore how art shapes perception, attention, and the way we understand the world. Alongside this, through Art and Culture Education CIC, we extend this work into education, developing programmes that position art as a core cognitive system, not an optional extra, but a foundation for how thinking evolves. Together, these strands connect the gallery, the classroom, and the wider public, forming a space where art is experienced not just as something to look at, but as a way of thinking" Sally Clark, Owner