Keith Arnatt

Keith Arnatt (1930–2008) emerged in the 1960s into the tumult of the London art scene to become a key figure in the history of British conceptual art and photography. In a self-reflexive practice that questions with a deadpan wit the status of both the art object and the role of the artist, Arnatt carefully examined and critiqued an increasing reliance of product over process and object over idea. Visually, his work embraced many of the tropes of international conceptualism and minimalism, yet by imbuing his work with an absurdist humor, Arnatt was able to develop a unique artistic language.

Arnatt’s early work often emerged from his interest in the minimalist cube or box, a point of investigation for peers both in the UK and the US. This was supplemented by the use of mirrors in works such as Mirror Plug and Invisible Hole Revealed (both 1968). These artworks functioned as both objects and events, with photography used to document the artist’s actions and attach them to specific contexts or locations. Arnatt’s mirror-lined holes carved into the earth allude to both magic and the creation of a disorientating image of the external world, deploying similar tools to his contemporaries Larry Bell, Robert Smithson and Robert Morris. Their coffin-like shape gives them a resounding sense of the macabre, as does Arnatt’s concerted effort to locate the artwork in the pitted moorland landscape.

Arnatt’s ambiguity of tone, and his concern with pits, burials and shadows, is further evident in perhaps his most famous work, Self Burial (1969), in which across a series of nine photographs the artist appears to sink gradually into the earth. The serial depiction of a slow self-burial reflects his persistent questioning of the identity and role of the artist, culminating in a placard that read “I’m a real artist’, which he wore repeatedly throughout 1972. In 1989, Arnatt used the image of himself wearing the placard to make Trouser – Word Piece. Originally conceived as an intervention in a catalog, Arnatt placed a photograph of himself wearing the placard and printed it next to a meditation on the nature of the real by the British philosopher John Austin. Thus the artist’s project became an epistemological one, where he explored the differences between knowing, believing and seeing.

He later redefined his use of photography with humorous studies of the ordinary, becoming, in his own words, “a real photographer” concerned with both composition and art-historical reference. In his series Walking the Dog (1976–79), dogs and their owners are subject to an almost taxonomic gaze. Influenced by an interest in repetition and seriality that is typical of conceptual photography, he went on to make A.O.N.B. (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty) (1982–84), which presented disillusioned views of historically significant “scenic routes” and Pictures from a Rubbish Tip (1988–89), where he focused on decomposing bits of food that he enlarged in vivid color. As Arnatt began to utilize the camera as a tool for producing art as well as just documenting it, the mundaneness of the everyday was exposed, questioning again how and what it means to be producing the work of a “real artist.”

The Photographs of Keith Arnatt – A Short Introduction by Justin Jones
© Still Life – Art and Photographic Image, 2016

Works

Keith Arnatt
Self-Burial, 1969

Keith Arnatt
Self-Burial, 1969
Nine black-and-white photographs
each: 39 × 39 cm | 15 3/8 × 15 3/8 inches

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Keith Arnatt
Self-Burial, 1969

Keith Arnatt
Self-Burial, 1969
Black-and-white vintage photograph
26.7 × 26.5 cm | 10 1/2 × 10 3/8 inches

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Keith Arnatt
Portrait of the Artist as a Shadow of his Former Self, 1969–72

Keith Arnatt
Portrait of the Artist as a Shadow of his Former Self, 1969–72
Vintage colour photograph mounted on board
120.6 x 120.6 cm | 47 1/2 x 47 1/2 inches

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Keith Arnatt
Earth Plug, 1967

Keith Arnatt
Earth Plug, 1967
Two vintage colour photographs
38.2 × 38.2 cm each | 15 × 15 inches each

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Keith Arnatt
Mirror-plug, 1968

Keith Arnatt
Mirror-plug, 1968
Mirror-glass, wood, wire, aggregate
Dimensions variable
Top piece: 56.8 × 27.5 × 28 cm | 22 3/8 × 10 7/8 × 11 inches
Sleeve: 60.9 × 31.7 × 28.3 cm | 24 × 12 1/2 × 11 1/8 inches

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Keith Arnatt
2188800 - 0000000, An Exhibition of the Duration of the Exhibition, 1969

Keith Arnatt
2188800 – 0000000, An Exhibition of the Duration of the Exhibition, 1969
Digital countdown system
10 × 29.4 × 6.1 cm | 4 × 11 5/8 × 2 3/8 inches

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Keith Arnatt
Art as an Act of Retraction, 1971

Keith Arnatt
Art as an Act of Retraction, 1971
Twelve black-and-white photographs
each: 33.5 × 22.5 cm | 13 1/8 × 8 7/8 inches

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Keith Arnatt
Trouser - Word Piece, 1972 (2014)

Keith Arnatt
Trouser – Word Piece, 1972 (2014)
Two black-and-white silver gelatin prints mounted on aluminium
each: 76.7 × 76.7 cm | 30 1/8 × 30 1/8 inches

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Keith Arnatt
A.O.N.B., 1982–85

Keith Arnatt
A.O.N.B., 1982–85
Black-and-white photograph
27.8 × 35.5 cm | 11 × 14 inches

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Keith Arnatt
Walking the Dog, 1976–77

Keith Arnatt
Walking the Dog, 1976–77
Silver gelatin print
33.4 × 27.5 cm | 13 1/8 × 10 7/8 inches

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Keith Arnatt
Gardeners, 1978–79 (printed 2019)

Keith Arnatt
Gardeners, 1978–79
Silver gelatin print
40.5 × 30.4 cm | 16 × 12 inches

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Keith Arnatt
Pet Shops, 1990

Keith Arnatt
Pet Shops, 1990
C-print
25.4 × 20.3 cm | 10 × 8 inches

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Keith Arnatt
German Toys / Dog Toys, 1992

Keith Arnatt
German Toys / Dog Toys, 1992
C-print
25.4 × 20.3 cm | 10 × 8 inches

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Keith Arnatt
Pictures from a Rubbish Tip, 1988–89/2004

Keith Arnatt
Pictures from a Rubbish Tip, 1988–89/2004
Colour lambda print
88 × 108 cm | 34 5/8 × 42 1/2 inches

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Keith Arnatt
Notes from Jo, 1991–95/2013

Keith Arnatt
Notes from Jo, 1991–95/2013
C-Print
25.4 × 20.3 cm | 10 × 8 inches

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Details

Keith Arnatt
Self-Burial, 1969
Nine black-and-white photographs
each: 39 × 39 cm | 15 3/8 × 15 3/8 inches

Keith Arnatt
Self-Burial, 1969

Keith Arnatt
Self-Burial, 1969

Keith Arnatt
Self-Burial, 1969 (detail)

Keith Arnatt
Self-Burial, 1969

Keith Arnatt
Self-Burial, 1969 (detail)

Keith Arnatt
Self-Burial, 1969

Keith Arnatt
Self-Burial, 1969 (detail)

Keith Arnatt
Self-Burial, 1969

Keith Arnatt
Self-Burial, 1969
Black-and-white vintage photograph
26.7 × 26.5 cm | 10 1/2 × 10 3/8 inches

Keith Arnatt
Self-Burial, 1969

Keith Arnatt
Portrait of the Artist as a Shadow of his Former Self, 1969–72
Vintage colour photograph mounted on board
120.6 x 120.6 cm | 47 1/2 x 47 1/2 inches

Keith Arnatt
Portrait of the Artist as a Shadow of his Former Self, 1969–72

Keith Arnatt
Earth Plug, 1967
Two vintage colour photographs
38.2 × 38.2 cm each | 15 × 15 inches each

Keith Arnatt
Earth Plug, 1967

Keith Arnatt
Mirror-plug, 1968

Keith Arnatt
Mirror-plug, 1968 (detail)

Keith Arnatt
Mirror-plug, 1968

Keith Arnatt
Mirror-plug, 1968 (detail)

Keith Arnatt
Mirror-plug, 1968

Keith Arnatt
2188800 – 0000000, An Exhibition of the Duration of the Exhibition, 1969
Digital countdown system
10 × 29.4 × 6.1 cm | 4 × 11 5/8 × 2 3/8 inches

Keith Arnatt
2188800 - 0000000, An Exhibition of the Duration of the Exhibition, 1969

Keith Arnatt
2188800 – 0000000, An Exhibition of the Duration of the Exhibition, 1969 (detail)

Keith Arnatt
2188800 - 0000000, An Exhibition of the Duration of the Exhibition, 1969

Keith Arnatt
Art as an Act of Retraction, 1971
Twelve black-and-white photographs
each: 33.5 × 22.5 cm | 13 1/8 × 8 7/8 inches

Keith Arnatt
Art as an Act of Retraction, 1971

Keith Arnatt
Art as an Act of Retraction, 1971 (detail)

Keith Arnatt
Art as an Act of Retraction, 1971

Keith Arnatt
Art as an Act of Retraction, 1971/2015 (detail)

Keith Arnatt
Art as an Act of Retraction, 1971/2015

Keith Arnatt
Art as an Act of Retraction, 1971/2015 (detail)

Keith Arnatt
Art as an Act of Retraction, 1971/2015

Keith Arnatt
Art as an Act of Retraction, 1971/2015 (detail)

Keith Arnatt
Art as an Act of Retraction, 1971/2015

Keith Arnatt
Trouser – Word Piece, 1972 (2014)
Two black-and-white silver gelatin prints mounted on aluminium
each: 76.7 × 76.7 cm | 30 1/8 × 30 1/8 inches

Keith Arnatt
Trouser - Word Piece, 1972 (2014)

Keith Arnatt
A.O.N.B., 1982–85
Black-and-white photograph
27.8 × 35.5 cm | 11 × 14 inches

Keith Arnatt
A.O.N.B., 1982–85

Keith Arnatt
Walking the Dog, 1976–77
Silver gelatin print
33.4 × 27.5 cm | 13 1/8 × 10 7/8 inches

Keith Arnatt
Walking the Dog, 1976–77

Keith Arnatt
Gardeners, 1978–79
Silver gelatin print
40.5 × 30.4 cm | 16 × 12 inches

Keith Arnatt
Gardeners, 1978–79 (printed 2019)

Keith Arnatt
Pet Shops, 1990
C-print
25.4 × 20.3 cm | 10 × 8 inches

Keith Arnatt
Pet Shops, 1990

Keith Arnatt
German Toys / Dog Toys, 1992
C-print
25.4 × 20.3 cm | 10 × 8 inches

Keith Arnatt
German Toys / Dog Toys, 1992

Keith Arnatt
Pictures from a Rubbish Tip, 1988–89/2004
Colour lambda print
88 × 108 cm | 34 5/8 × 42 1/2 inches

Keith Arnatt
Pictures from a Rubbish Tip, 1988–89/2004

Keith Arnatt
Notes from Jo, 1991–95/2013
C-Print
25.4 × 20.3 cm | 10 × 8 inches

Keith Arnatt
Notes from Jo, 1991–95/2013

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Exhibitions at Sprüth Magers

Seriously.
Curated by Nana Bahlmann
November 21, 2025–January 31, 2026
London

Monika Sprüth and Philomene Magers are pleased to present Seriously., a group exhibition curated by Nana Bahlmann, featuring over a hundred conceptual photographs, print media, and select films ranging from the 1960s to the present, which expose the absurdities of our world and its representations…

Keith Arnatt
Eden 69–89
November 22, 2023–February 3, 2024
London

Sprüth Magers is pleased to present a show of Keith Arnatt’s work at the London gallery, focusing on the period 1969 to 1989. The exhibition Eden 69–89 mixes photographs taken around his home on the Welsh border with physical interventions, proposals and jokes that targeted his own and others’ conceptual interests of the late ’60s and early ’70s. In texts and contextual interventions shown alongside color and black-and-white photographic works of the ’70s and ’80s, there are surprising connections: facileness of analysis exposed, a kind of Beckettian dross associated with that; the totemic, the beautiful; the sharply reductive; the whole thing, the individual, its breakdown in parts.

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Keith Arnatt
Absence of the Artist
September 1–September 26, 2015
London

Keith Arnatt has occupied a key position in the history of British conceptual art for almost 50 years. Since his death in 2008 he has become an important model for contemporary artists who work at the limits of art’s ‘dematerialisation’: site-specific interventions, time-based gestures, or works of art that are seemingly short-lived and inconspicuous. Absence of the Artist, Arnatt’s second exhibition with Sprüth Magers and his first in the London gallery, brings together a range of important work conceived between 1967–72.

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Keith Arnatt
Notes
September 14–November 2, 2013
Berlin

The exhibition will showcase photographs from the artist’s series Notes from Jo (1991–1995), in which Arnatt photographed personal notes and domestic reminders written to him by his late wife. Also on display will be work from the series Labels Borrowed/Stolen (1993–1995), featuring photographs of labels and signs taken from local shops.

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Press

Review of Keith Arnatt, Absence of the Artist at Sprüth Magers, London
Aesthetica, review by Trevor H Smith, September 26, 2015

Keith Arnatt: the conceptual photographer who influenced a generation
British Journal of Photography, Article by Brennavan Sritharan, September 4, 2015

Keith Arnatt is proof that the art world doesn’t consider photography ‘real’ art
The Guardian, article by Sean O’Hagan, August 27, 2015

Der Freak von nebenan
Welt, article by Tim Ackermann, November 25, 2012

Small things writ large
The Guardian, article by Martin Parr, May 19, 2007

Biography

Keith Arnatt (1930–2008). Selected solo exhibitions include Sprüth Magers, London (2023), Tate Britain, London (2013), Henry Moore Institute, Leeds (2009), The Photographers’ Gallery, London (1989, 2007), Centro de Arte y Comunicación, Buenos Aires (1992), Arnolfini Gallery, Bristol (1986) and Whitechapel Art Gallery, London (1977). Selected group exhibitions include Philadelphia Museum of Art (2025), Centre for British Photography, London (2023), ZKM Center for Art and Media, Karlsruhe (2019), Tate Modern, London (2016, 2020), Fotomuseum Winterthur, Museum Folkwang, Essen (both 2014), Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (2012), Henry Moore Institute, Leeds, Royal Academy of Arts, London (both 2011), Tate Britain (2002, 2007, 2016, 2024), MoMA PS1 Contemporary Art Center, New York (2009), Fundació Joan Miró, Barcelona (2004), Kunsthalle Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf (2003), Whitechapel Art Gallery, London (2000), XXI Bienal de São Paulo (1991), Barbican Art Gallery, London (1989), Hayward Gallery, London, Tate, London (both 1972), Museum of Modern Art, New York, Vancouver Art Gallery (both 1970), Seattle Art Museum and Camden Arts Centre, London (both 1969).

Education

1956–58	Royal Academy Schools, London
1951–55	Oxford School of Art

Public Collections

Arts Council Collection

Bristol Museum & Art Gallery

British Council

British Museum, London

Harris Museum and Art Gallery, Preston

Leeds Art Gallery

Los Angeles County Museum of Art

Museum of Modern Art, New York

National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

National Museum of Wales, Cardiff

National Media Museum, Bradford

Philadelphia Museum of Art

RKD – Netherlands Institute for Art History, The Hague

Tate, London

Victoria & Albert Museum, London

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