BRETT WHITELEY

Baker Galleries, Sydney (label on the reverse)
Private collection, Sydney

Contemporary gold frame with white mount. Paper appears to have yellowed - visable along the top and bottom of the work against the mount. Good 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."

Since Dada and Surrealism, the element of chance has been a significant part of the vocabulary of modern art. Brett Whiteley here demonstrates his particular embrace of the aleatory, in a work which takes its character and title from a pale explosion of brush water in the upper left. The subject of the present work is the familiar view from Whiteley's Lavender Bay house and studio: over a foreground of palms, pier and yachts, past Luna Park to the Bridge and across the Harbour to the city. Either by the acceptance or adaptation of an accident, or possibly by deliberate, anarchic gesture, Whiteley makes a splash with his counter sunburst of nasty weather, drip rays running towards Lavender Bay pier like needles of wind.