BILLY APPLE New Zealand, b. 1935
Billy Apple® (then known as Barrie Bates) studied at the Royal College of Art between 1959 and 1962 exhibiting alongside fellow artists such as David Hockney, Derek Boshier and Pauline Boty in the annual Young Contemporaries exhibitions.
In 1962 after graduating he notoriously changed his name and altered his appearance becoming ‘Billy Apple®’ in a self-conscious art action that doubled as a canny exercise in re-branding. In 1964 he moved to New York working with Andy Warhol in the pivotal exhibition The American Supermarket including Oldenburg, Wesselmann and Johns. In 1969, the artist opened Apple at 161 West 23rd Street, one of the six not-for-profit spaces that established New York’s Conceptual Art movement.
Exploring new consumer technologies, he was a pioneer in useing a Xerox machine and Neon signage. During the 1980s, Apple's practice focused on the economics of the art world. In 1983 he produced a solid gold apple for the former Auckland Coin & Bullion Exchange Director – a significant precursor to Damien Hirst's 2007 diamond skull For the Love of God. By 2007 Billy Apple® was a registered brand.
In 1974, Apple's first major survey exhibition was held at the Serpentine Gallery in London: From Barrie Bates to Billy Apple® (temporarily shut down due to complaints of indecency) Recent exhibitions include the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, International Pop, touring to Dallas Museum of Art and the Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2015-2016, and a retrospective at the Auckland Art Gallery, Billy Apple®, The Artist has to live like everybody else, 2015.
Billy Apple® lives and works in Auckland, New Zealand.
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Wild Flower Face, Colour Progressives: Set of 6, 1968
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A Union, Jack!, 1962
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Four Activities: Mopping, Sweeping, Vacuuming, Washing, 20 March 1971, 1971
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The Ship, Brighton Beach, Sussex, England , 1963
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The Artist Has to Live Like Everybody Else, 1985 / 2018
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Promissory Notes: I.O.U. (red), 1984 - 2018
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Bartered, 1984 / 2018
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PAID: The Artist Has to Live Like Everybody Else, 4 x British Rail tickets: £178 Berwick on Tweed to Kings X London 24 Oct 2010, 1987 / 2018$5,000.00
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FOR SALE (test strip), 1961
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Madonna & Child, 1964
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The Presidential Suite: George Washington, 1964
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The Presidential Suite: The Mighty Landslide, 1964
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The Presidential Suite: Johnson & Humphrey at L.B.J. Barbecue, 1964
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The Presidential Suite: To a Future Historian, 1964
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The Presidential Suite: J.F.K, 1964
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Self-portrait with eye patch, 1973
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Portrait of Rembrandt, 1964
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Neon signature (red), 1967
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BILLY APPLE®
The Artist Has to Live Like Everybody Else 1962 – 2018 12 Sep - 2 Nov 2018A third solo exhibition by Billy Apple will run at The Mayor Gallery from 12 September – 2 November 2018. This follows on from the 2010 and 2013 exhibitions; Billy...Read more -
BILLY APPLE
NEW YORK 1970-75 10 Sep - 26 Oct 2013 -
BILLY APPLE
BRITISH AND AMERICAN WORKS 1960 - 1969 16 Sep - 30 Oct 2010
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BILLY APPLE
Centre of the Extended Continental Shelf of New Zealand, 2012 Installed April 2019 July 29, 2019Billy Apple has at last been able to install a large art work on a ridge in the Tararua Mountain Ranges after three years of...Read more -
BILLY APPLE® FINISSAGE EVENT
RGB, In conversation with Misal Adnan Yıldı October 30, 2018Billy Apple®: The Artist Has to Live like Everybody Else 1961 – 2018 Finissage event R G B in conversation with Misal Adnan Yıldız 1...Read more -
BILLY APPLE® IN CONVERSATION WITH HANS ULRICH OBRIST (VIDEO)
October 23, 2018In accompaniment to Billy Apple's solo exhibition The Artist Has to Live Like Everybody Else 1961-2018 Hans Ulrich Obrist talks with Billy Apple about his...Read more -
BILLY APPLE®
INTERVIEW WITH STUDIO INTERNATIONAL October 17, 2018Billy Apple is not just an artist - he's a trademarked brand. He talks about exchanging his art for a knee operation and his new...Read more