Suzanne Goldberg (1940–1999) was a New Zealand painter, born in

Auckland, New Zealand Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

Education

Goldberg graduated from Elam School of Fine Arts in 1961 with honours and awarded th
Joe Raynes Scholarship
in her final year. At Elam, she studied alongside

Don Binney Donald Hall Binney, (24 March 1940 – Sources are (even self-) inconsistent, saying he was 72 or 73, yet born in 1940, resulting in a possible range of birth dates from 15 September 1938 to 14 September 1940. However, based on input from ...

Michael Smither Michael Duncan Smither (born 29 October 1939) is a New Zealand painter and composer. Background Smither was born in New Plymouth and was educated at New Plymouth Boys' High School and Elam School of Fine Arts, Auckland. While studying he wor ...

, Lynley Dodd, Greer Twiss, Malcolm Warr, and

Graham Percy Graham Percy (7 June 1938 – 4 January 2008) was a New Zealand-born artist, designer and illustrator. His work was the subject of ''The Imaginative Life and Times of Graham Percy'', a major posthumous exhibition of his work which was shown at ga ...

. In 1965 she received a ''Queen Elizabeth'' II ''Arts Council Grant'' which allowed her to travel to the United Kingdom and attend the Hornsey College of Art.

Career

Goldberg's paintings combined approaches to abstract and

representational art Representation is the use of signs that stand in for and take the place of something else.Mitchell, W. 1995, "Representation", in F Lentricchia & T McLaughlin (eds), ''Critical Terms for Literary Study'', 2nd edn, University of Chicago Press, Chica ...

. She experimented with painting techniques and effects including washing paint off with turpentine; a process called

decalcomania Decalcomania (from french: décalcomanie) is a decorative technique by which engravings and prints may be transferred to pottery or other materials. A shortened version of the term is used for a mass-produced commodity art transfer or product l ...

(also used by the

Surrealists Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to l ...

), in which paper is used to apply paint by taking impressions from paint layered on board. Known for landscapes of New Zealand, Goldberg has also painted portraits. Well known works include ''Landscape'' (1964), ''Life'' (1960) and ''BDG No 1'' (1969). Her paintings of birds were featured in

James McNeish Sir James Henry Peter McNeish (23 October 1931 – 11 November 2016) was a New Zealand novelist, playwright and biographer. Biography McNeish attended Auckland Grammar School and graduated from Auckland University College with a degree in lang ...

's book ''An Albatross Too Many''.

Exhibitions

In 1961, Goldberg exhibited with ''

The Group The Group may refer to: Film and television * ''The Group'' (Australian TV series), 1971 situation comedy produced by Cash Harmon Television for ATN7 * ''The Group'' (Canadian TV series), 1968–70 music variety on CBC Television * ''The Group ...

,'' an informal art association from

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

, New Zealand, that formed to provide a freer alternative to the

Canterbury Society of Arts Centre of Contemporary Art (CoCA, formerly the Canterbury Society of Arts) is a curated art gallery in the central city of Christchurch, New Zealand. The gallery is administered by the Canterbury Society of Arts (CSA) Charitable Trust. Quarte ...

. Goldberg's first solo show was in 1962, an exhibition entitled "''Two New Names''" (also exhibiting with

Pat Hanly James Patrick Hanly (2 August 1932 – 20 September 2004), generally known as Pat Hanly, was a prolific New Zealand painter. One of his works is a large mural ''Rainbow Pieces'' (1971) at Chrischurch Town Hall. Early life Born in Palmerston N ...

). In 1963, three of her paintings were included in the Auckland City Art Gallery's Contemporary New Zealand Painting exhibition. She was one of fifteen New Zealand artists to have their work selected for the 1965 Commonwealth exhibition in London. Goldberg also exhibited at the

Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki is the principal public gallery in Auckland, New Zealand. It has the most extensive collection of national and international art in New Zealand and frequently hosts travelling international exhibitions. Set be ...

. In 1999 the Dowse Museum, in

Lower Hutt Lower Hutt ( mi, Te Awa Kairangi ki Tai) is a city in the Wellington Region of New Zealand. Administered by the Hutt City Council, it is one of the four cities that constitute the Wellington metropolitan area. It is New Zealand's sixth most p ...

, hosted a major retrospective of Goldberg's art. Fellow artist Barry Lett promoted her work, including her in exhibitions at the

Barry Lett Galleries Barry Lett Galleries was a dealer gallery focused on contemporary New Zealand art that operated in Auckland in the 1960s and 1970s. History Barry Lett Galleries was opened in 1965 by Barry Lett (1940–2017), who had graduated from Elam Schoo ...

Collections

Several different places have kept designs that she made. Pieces by Goldberg are owned by the

Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa is New Zealand's national museum and is located in Wellington. ''Te Papa Tongarewa'' translates literally to "container of treasures" or in full "container of treasured things and people that spring fr ...

Auckland Art Gallery Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki is the principal public gallery in Auckland, New Zealand. It has the most extensive collection of national and international art in New Zealand and frequently hosts travelling international exhibitions. Set be ...

,University of Auckland,

Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington ( mi, Te Herenga Waka) is a university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. The university is well know ...

, the

Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobi ...

and New Zealand consulates in Washington, Tokyo, New York and Canberra.

Education

Career

Exhibitions

Collections

References

Further reading