Carnival in Suburbia

When he died suddenly in Melbourne in July 1999, at the age of 48, Australian painter Howard Arkley had just achieved his greatest successes, receiving international critical acclaim for his work at the Venice Biennale and in Los Angeles. Arkley enjoyed pop themes and imagery, like many of his 'postmodern' generation, but he also developed an idiosyncratic individual style, using heavy, air-brushed lines and vivid colour to produce stylised representations of everyday subjects. Carnival in Suburbia covers Arkley's work thematically, beginning with his best-known works of suburban imagery. Subsequent chapters examine his fascination with pattern, colour and line; a full account for the first time of his creative use of source material; and his collaborations with Juan Davila and other contemporaries. Finally, Arkley is identified as a 'carnivalesque' painter, intrigued by death, grotesque body imagery and masks. John Gregory, an art-historian by profession, was Arkley's brother-in-law.

• Written with exclusive access to Arkley's studio collections and files
• The author has intimate, first hand knowledge of Arkley because of his close family ties
• Explores festive and anarchic themes alongside the suburban everyday