The generally flat art market caused by Covid-19 continued in 2021, and Arkley offerings during the year were correspondingly modest. The most significant example sold was probably Study for Chair Tableau, Blue X 1993, at Deutscher and Hackett in November; the auction house preferred a date of 1980-1, although in my view its style relates more closely to the year 1993, also mentioned in the work’s inscription (refer relevant entry for further details).
It was also a quiet year for Arkley publications. A new survey of Australian participation in the Venice Biennale (Gardner 2021) rehearsed existing knowledge of Arkley’s 1999 exhibition, reproducing a 1988 photo of the artist by Bill McAuley (National Portrait Gallery, Canberra).