In the 80’s and 90’s Wendy Arnold was one of the three owners and designers behind the highly successful fashion label Studibaker Hawk.

Worn by rock stars and debutantes alike, and sold in Harrods of London, and retailers in New York, they took the local fashion industry by storm and there seemed no end to their meteoric rise.

Wendy Arnold’s fine art background was the driving force behind the wildly individual signature prints, which were instantly recognisable as Studibaker originals of this street couture label.

At the age of 40, however, true to a promise she had made 13 years before… she hung up her tape measure, and left the fashion industry behind to return to a career in fine art. Taking a studio space in Rozelle with a large group of practising artists, she threw herself back into painting and printmaking.

The adornment of the female figure remains a constant in her work, almost a tribute to her years in the fashion industry. Wendy Arnold’s appropriation of Asian imagery and textile design is a consistently strong element of her work, often coloured with historical reference and popular culture resulting in a eclectic combination of the past, cultural diversity and pop imagery.

The figures seem barely contained within the confines of the canvas. Birds and flowers interweave with gold leaf and the rich patterning to create an evocative combination of the nearly nude and demurely concealed

HISTORY

Born New Zealand

1971            Migrated to Perth with family

1973-76        West Australian Institute of Technology (painting & printmaking)

1977-80        Extensive travel through Europe and the UK

1981            Alexander Mackie (College of Fine Arts, Sydney (postgraduate certificate)

1982            Co-founded ,co-owned prestgious fashion label ‘Studibaker Hawk’

1995            Left the fashion world to return to full-time painting

1998            Set up large studio artspace for 52 artists in Sydney’s inner west with Rogerio Blanc Ramos

EXHIBITIONS

2016            “Primavera” Paul Gullotti gallery wa

2015            “Memoir” Trevor Victor Harvey gallery mosman

2014            “Gossip” Gallery One southport qld

2013            “Menagerie” Gadfly Gallery wa.

2013            “Embodiment” Richard Martin Art, Sydney

2011            ‘Primavera’, Richard Martin Art, Sydney

2010            Gadlfy Gallery, Perth WA

2009            Rushcutters Bay Gallery, Sydney

2008            Rushcutters Bay Gallery, Sydney

2008            Gadlfy Gallery, Perth WA

2007            Rushcutters Bay Gallery, Sydney

2007            Gadlfy Gallery, Perth WA

2006            Rushcutters Bay Gallery, Sydney

2006            Paul Gullotti Gallery, Perth WA

2005            Rushcutters Bay Gallery, Sydney

2004            Shanghai Art Fair

2004            Rushcutters Bay Gallery, Sydney

2003            Rushcutters Bay Gallery, Sydney

2003            Jackman Gallery ,Melbourne

2002            Rushcutters Bay Gallery, Sydney

2002            Jackman Gallery, Melbourne

2003            Ground Floor Gallery, Sydney

2001            Exhibition in Paris at Galerie Say

2001            Rushcutters Bay Gallery, Sydney

2000            Rushcutters Bay Gallery, Sydney

1999            Rushcutters Bay Gallery, Sydney

 AWARDS AND PRIZES

2011           Portia Geach Portrait Prize (Finalist)

2008           John Glover Landscape Prize (finalist)

2005           Mosman Art Prize (finalist)

2004           Mosman Art Prize (finalist)

 COLLECTIONS

BHP Billiton, ING, Stockland Hotel Group, Telstra, Gutterage Hasken & Davies, QBE Mercantile Mutual, SAS INS, Woolpack Hotel, Avillion Hotel, National Australia Bank, Fox Studios, Royal Motor Yacht Club, Ascot International.

Wendy Arnold’s work is held in numerous private collections throughout Australia and New Zealand as well as Paris, Shanghai, London, Singapore, Barcelona, United States of America and Dubai.

Recently commissioned to paint 4 pieces for the refurbishment of the new Star City Casino