Artbank Staff Profile: Oskar Arnold

Name: Oskar Arnold

Job Title: Art Consultant

What year did you join the Artbank team: 2024

Describe your role and what you enjoy about working for Artbank: I joined Artbank after working at the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art (ACCA), STATION, and the Repatriation team in the Office for the Arts. As an Art Consultant at Artbank Melbourne, my job is essentially to create and nurture relationships between artworks and the people who lease them. This is a fascinating process – as both the artworks and the viewers differ so greatly. From pairing a work by Gordon Bennett with a client whose thesis was based upon his work, to placing a tapestry from 1982 on the set of a major American television program, there are so many fascinating stories of Artbank’s collection out in the world, where the general public can access the very best of Australian contemporary art.

Every week that I have worked here, I have seen and discovered something new, whether it be unusual older works from clients changing over after many years, or exciting new acquisitions fresh from the artist’s studio.

If you haven’t visited one of Artbank’s spaces, I strongly encourage you to come in and view the works on the racks. As Commonwealth assets, they belong to all of us.

Favourite artwork from the Artbank collection:  Pru La Motte, The Artist’s Wife, 1978, wool and cotton.

Short explanation of your artwork selection (200 words max):
This work exemplifies the eccentricities of the Artbank collection, and highlights how rewarding it can be to dig deep into the archive of works. This 1978 weaving by Pru La Motte, one of Australia’s foremost artist weavers, demonstrates the graphic and vivid style that is characteristic of her work. Inspired by West African and American weaving techniques, this work also reflects the feminist social context of the 1970’s, portraying the hard-working (likely long-suffering) wife of an artist, propelling him to the highest echelons of the art world, whilst juggling domestic labour and the encroach of an ominous underworld of anonymous faces below. Much like Artbank’s collection, there’s a lot going on!