1996

1996 Works

3D/Miscellaneous

Untitled [suburban house photos] (1996 and earlier) [3/M]
Unidentified source images, collected from real estate agents.

Paintings

96 Zappo 1996
Variant of the two 1987 Zappo Head canvases; produced for the Ericcson mobile phone project.
Another House and Garden 1996
One of several very similar versions of this composition produced in 1996-97.
Explosion 1996
One of the three small canvases Arkley made for the Ericsson mobile phone project in 1996.
Floral Exterior (1996)
This variant of Floriated Address 1995 was acquired by the NGA in 2001.
Freeway (overpass) 1996
This canvas was purchased from Tolarno in May 1996.
Freeway Exit 1996
This painting was exhibited at the Bellas Gallery, Brisbane, in 1996, and then bought by a Melbourne collector.
High Fenced 1996
Canvas shown by Tolarno at Art Cologne 1996, and later acquired for a private collection in London in 2000.
House with Native Tree  1996
This elegant painting, composed in grey and various other muted hues, was shown internationally in 1996 and 1998.
Houseomorphics (1996)
This is an elaborate example of the decorative style Arkley first developed with Floriated Residence (1994).
Still Life Tulips (1996)
This is a stylized variant of Tulips and Spotted Vase (1986).
The Tree House Painting 1996
Cool variant of House with Native Tree (1996), etc., auctioned in 1998.
Theatrical Facade (1996) [2]
In this variant of Theatrical Facade (1996) [Canberra], the grey-blue line and pastel tones significantly alter the character of the composition.
Theatrical Facade (1996) [Canberra]
A classic Arkley image of suburban taste, acquired for the collection of Parliament House, Canberra, in 1997.

Works on Paper

Bungalow Home (1996) [W/P]
Work on paper variant of Stucco House (1988).
Colourfield House (1996) [W/P]
Work on paper variant of Spray Veneer (1994).
Family Home (1996) [W/P]
Variant of Floral Exterior (1996) and Houseomorphics (1996).
Fenced In Home (1996) [W/P]
Work-on-paper variant of Cosy Clinker (1994).
Floral Interior (1996) [W/P]
Unidentified work listed in Arkley’s 1993-6 stock-book.
Freeway (over pass) (1996) [W/P]
A cool variant of the subject represented in more monumental, colourful form in Freeway (Exit) 1995.
Highrise on Highrise (1996) [W/P]
Exhibited under this title at the Bellas Gallery, Brisbane, in March 1996.
House and Native Tree 1996 [W/P]
This work is comparable with other monochrome works on paper from 1995, and is also related to several 1996 canvases of the same subject.
Household Interior (1996) [W/P]
Unidentified work on paper shown in HA Bellas 3/96; see also Interior (1996) [W/P].
Icon Head 1996 [W/P]
Work on paper first shown at the Bellas Gallery, Brisbane, in March 1996.
Interior [Bellas] (1996) [W/P]
Work on paper shown in Arkley's solo show at Bellas, Brisbane, March-April 1996.
Interior 1996 [W/P]
One of several closely related works based on a page from Arkley's copy of Gold's interior decorator manual.
Ketoacidosis (1996) [W/P]
Unidentified work on paper shown in HA Bellas 3/96.
Picasso Head 1996 [W/P]
Variant of Picasso Head 1990.
Pittoresque (?) (1996) [W/P]
Probably the work shown under this title in HA Bellas 3/96.
Self Portrait (1996) [W/P]
First shown under this title in HA Bellas 3/96; the composition is based on an icon source first used by Arkley in 1984.
Still Life Petunias (1996) [W/P]
Unidentified work on paper shown in HA Bellas 3/96.
Tulips in a White Vase (1996) [W/P]
Work on paper shown in HA Bellas 3/96.
Untitled [‘Head’] (1996?) [W/P]
One of several closely related variants produced in the mid 1990s; this example was auctioned in Melbourne in August 1998.

Works on Paper Minor

1996 Works on paper (minor)
No specific examples known (but see also Sketchbooks S 26-27 and Visual Diary D 38).

HA in studio 1996

(photo: Arkley in his studio in Warrigal Road, Oakleigh, August 1996 [archive photo by Alison Burton])

Although this was a relatively quiet year for Arkley, it was highlighted by international exposure of his recent paintings, in curated group shows travelling to Korea (‘Australia: Familiar and Strange’), Singapore (‘Contemporary Australia: Six Leading Artists’), and Germany (with Tolarno at Art Cologne). He also had a solo show of new work (mostly on paper) at the Bellas Gallery, Brisbane, in March/April, and his work also appeared in several other group shows, including the Adelaide festival exhibition in March.

A commercial venture arranged through Tolarno, involving the proposed display of reproductions of Arkley’s works on Ericsson mobile phones (also meant to involve works by others, including older Australian painter John Olsen) did not eventuate: Arkley produced three small variants of older works for this project: Explosion, Still Life Tulips and Zappo (all 1996); these paintings were among the Arkleys shown at Art Cologne.[1]

1996 Exhibitions

‘Compost’ – Adelaide Festival Exh., 7-15 March 1996 (works by 15 artists were shown in houses in suburban Norwood; other artists included Maria Kozic and Constanze Zikos. For reviews, see Holt 1996 and Jackson 1996; see also exh.list in Spray 130)

‘Howard Arkley: New Works’, Bellas, Brisbane, March – April 1996

– refer linked entry for full details

‘The Art of Collecting #2’ (cur.Elizabeth Gower), Linden Gallery, St Kilda, 18 April-12 May 1996 [correspondence and catalogue in Arkley archive]

‘Rites for an Anxious Spring – Selected Acquisitions 1981-1995’, MOMA at Heide, 27 Aug.-29 Sept.1996 (press clipping on file)

‘Australia: Familiar and Strange: Australian Contemporary Art’, Hangaram Art Museum, Seoul Arts Center, Korea, 3-29 September 1996, (curated by Tim Morrell; organized by the Asialink Centre of the University of Melbourne)

‘Tolarno at Art Cologne’, Germany, 10-17 Nov.1996 [details here via Spray: 130]

‘Contemporary Australia: Six Leading Artists’, United Overseas Bank, Singapore {dates?} [these details via exhibition list in Spray: 130]

[1] Arkley’s files contain a bulky file on the ‘Art of Communication’ project, already developed successfully internationally by the Swedish telco, with works by Haring, Tàpies, Picasso and others. However the Australian venture, which was also to have included work by a third local painter, Ricky Howells, was abandoned, apparently on economic grounds. For press reports on Arkley’s involvement, see Barclay 1996 and van Niekerk 1996 (copies in Arkley files). The project predated (by several years) recent interest in the mobile phone as an artistic site: see e.g. Elissa Baxter, ‘Pocket gallery’, Melbourne Age Green Guide, 14 August 2008, pp.24-25.