Howard Arkley - Audio guide

Ray Edgar and Ashley Crawford wonder whether Arkley's painting Shadow Factories, inspired by a Peter Carey story, is a celebration or condemnation of its subject.

Ray Edgar and Ashley Crawford sing the praises of this portrait which conjures so many sides of the singer Nick Cave.

Curator Jason Smith and artist Kathy Temin deconstruct Arkley’s work Deluxe Setting, examining the formal aspects of the work and feelings it evokes in the viewer.

Andy McDonald sheds some light on Arkley’s work Superb and Solid.

Ashley Crawford suggests that the anarchy in Primitive is what gives the work its life and energy but the control in Fabricated Rooms proves Arkley has become a master artist.

The suburbs are Arkley’s master stroke. Ray Edgar and Chris McAuliffe consider Indoors/Outdoors where patterns normally associated with suburban interiors get an airing outside.

Ray Edgar and Chris McAuliffe ponder the source of inspiration for Arkley’s work Suicide, an image that can be read in several ways.

Ray Edgar and John Gregory regard Suburban Interior as an example of the beginnings of Arkley’s suburban theme which he was so famous for in later years.

John Gregory discusses Zappo Head, a recurrent image in Arkley’s work and often understood to be a self-portrait.

Chris McAuliffe uses Frank Stella’s work as a starting point to discuss The Cacti Succulents which challenges expectations about the boundary between cool abstraction and lurid decoration.

When most people think of Arkley’s suburbs, this painting is it. Ray Edgar and John Gregory discuss Suburban Exterior, and delve into the work’s darker undercurrents.

John Gregory talks about Arkley’s interest in pattern making and his manipulation of space and depth to create playful optical illusions.

John Gregory and Ray Edgar discuss Arkley’s work Vortex which plays with decorative forms reminiscent of fabric patterns and optical patterning in a game of high and low culture.

Ray Edgar and Chris McAuliffe shed some light on Arkley’s Musak Mural, a series of repetitive, brightly coloured paintings incorporating disco dots, strange chairs and linoleum.

Ashley Crawford and Ray Edgar consider Arkley’s work Primitive which demonstrates Arkley’s extraordinary skill as a draftsman as well as his penchant for masking tape.

Realising he had struck upon creative gold with Primitive, Arkley set about making it again, says Ray Edgar, this time realising the work in gold as well as a companion piece in silver.

Arkley is well known for his abstract works but he was also interested in figurative imagery. John Gregory and Ray Edgar explore this aspect of his work in Tattooed head.

Curator Jason Smith offers an overview of the Howard Arkley exhibition and the artist’s work.

John Gregory, Ray Edgar and Chris McAuliffe discuss Arkley’s interest in abstraction and the everyday as well as his experimentation with the air brush as seen in the work Inventory.

John Gregory and Ray Edgar discuss Arkley’s work The Proton Neutron, a highly patterned abstract work that fuses high art sources and the everyday in a complex, original way.