Neapolitan Delight 1993 [kitchen]



Synthetic polymer paint on canvas, 175.2 x 134.7
Signed, dated & titled (verso)
Coll.: unknown (last auctioned Nov.2019)

Exhibited in Arkley’s “Recommended Rooms” show, Bellas, Brisbane, 5/93; slide in Arkley’s archive.

Arkley’s earlier kitchen image, Ultrakleen 1992, was based on a different composition in Gold’s Instant Decorator. This canvas, however, uses another page in Gold’s book (template no.10), featuring bentwood chairs in the foreground. Arkley has modified the homely source, adding unsettling details: an alarmingly tilted tiled floor pattern, and a cupboard door shown slightly ajar.

NB this painting should not be confused with Neapolitan Delight 1993 [lounge-room].

Provenance

  • Bellas Gallery, Brisbane
  • Acquired for private collection, Melbourne, 1995
  • Auctioned by Sotheby’s, Sydney, 20 Nov.2019, lot 33 (revised details and ill.as shown here; est.$800,000 – $1,000,000; sold for $1.2 million plus buyer’s premium [$1,464,000])

Exhibited

  • HA Bellas, Brisbane, 5/93, cat.2 ($7,000)