DEL KATHRYN BARTON

Karen Woodbury Gallery, Melbourne (label on reverse)
Private Collection, Sydney; purchased from the above

Del Kathryn Barton, Karen Woodbury Gallery, Melbourne, 7 September - 1 October 2005

This work is presented in a white painted timber box frame. This work is in overall good original condition.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The work of Del Kathryn Barton feeds the early 21st century's candid, erotomania with a panoply of personal artistic mannerisms. Some are drawn from high art:  Gustave Klimt's obsessive-compulsive surface pattern; Egon Schiele's strained, skinny, wash-bruised line; Hans Bellmer's bizarre porno-puppetry. Others come from popular culture: the all-over decoration of beading and embroidery; the extravagance of high-end fashion design; the big-eyed cuteness of Japanese manga and 'lowbrow' pop surrealism; the narcissism of advertising.

Barton combines these devices to create an 'army of Amazon lovers... whether their faces have the plump composure of a baby, the anorectic lassitude of a bored catwalk model or the remote severity of a bondage mistress, the figures...are manipulations and multiplications of a sensuality that anxiously shifts between self-satisfaction and...craving... Within each figure's confident and even elegantly sinuous exhibitionistic pose there are nervous tremors of indecision, apprehension and expectation. ...It's a sensuality that divides between languor and wantonness, and oscillates from decorativeness to violent demand.'¹

1. Edward Colless, 'Del Kathryn Barton's Heavy Petting', Australian Art Collector, no. 38, October-December 2006, p. 129