‘Howard Arkley’, Bellas, Brisbane, May-June 1994

‘Howard Arkley: “Black and White Paintings” and Works on Paper’, Bellas Gallery, Brisbane, 24 May-11 June 1994

This important exhibition comprised an extensive series of monochrome works on paper and canvas. The invitation – reproduced here – is preserved in the artist’s archive. The check-list for the exhibition (copy kindly forwarded in June 2023 by Simon Wright, who was Bellas Gallery manager in 1994) provides full details of the works included, most of which can be identified as shown below – superseding the incomplete list previously published in this catalogue. All these works were also listed under the same titles in Arkley’s 1993-6 stock-book (artist’s archive). Some of the works on paper apparently reappeared under different titles in Arkley’s ‘White + Black’ show at Tolarno, Sept.1995.

Works shown were as follows; nos.1-3 (each priced at $1,000) and 10-19 ($900 each) were works on paper, nos.4-9 were canvases ($6,000 each):

• 1. ‘Zappo Head for 1994’ = Zappo Head B/W 1994 [W/P]
• 2. ‘Illogical Graft’ = Illogical Graft (1994) [W/P] (unidentified)
• 3. ‘Shadow Factory’ = (presumably) Shadow Factory B/W 1994 [W/P]
• 4. ‘Icon Impersonation’ = Icon Head (1994) (also exhibited at Dick Bett Gallery, Hobart 8/94)
• 5. ‘Tudor Village’ = Tudor Village B/W 1994
• 6. ‘Two Gizmos’ = Two Gizmos 1994.
• 7. Brand New Villa 1994: canvas exhibited and auctioned after the artist’s death as ‘Corner House’ (thanks to Simon Wright for his advice on this matter, June 2023)
• 8. ‘Suburban Allegory’ = Suburban Allegory (1994?): not certainly identified, but possibly = Untitled [‘Man looking onto cityscape’] (1994?)
• 9. ‘Grace with Space’ = Grace with Space 1994
• 10. ‘Walking Abstract’ = Walking Abstract (1994) [W/P] (unidentified)
• 11. ‘Tudor Village’ = Tudor Village (1994) [W/P]; also exh.at Dick Bett Gallery, Hobart 8/94 (and listed in Arkley’s stock-book as sold by Bett)
• 12. ‘Picasso Head’ = Picasso Head (1994) [W/P]
• 13. ‘Idiot Vision’ = Idiot Vision (1994) [W/P] (unidentified)
• 14. ‘Mask for Baudelaire’ = Mask for Baudelaire (1994) [W/P] (also exhibited at Dick Bett Gallery, Hobart 8/94; and possibly also in HA Tolarno 9/95, as ‘Head Baudelaire’)
• 15. ‘Disco-Cacti B/W’ = Disco Cacti B/W (1994) [W/P] (unidentified)
• 16. ‘Demo Space’ = Demo Space 1994 [W/P]
• 17. ‘As New’ = As New (1994) [W/P]
• 18. ‘Domestic Horticulture’ = Domestic Horticulture (1994) [W/P] (unidentified)
• 19. ‘Face of an Icon’ = Face of an Icon (1994) [W/P] (unidentified)