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| Vivian Lynn | |
|---|---|
| Name | Vivian Lynn |
| Birth date | 1931 |
| Birth place | Auckland |
| Death date | 2018 |
| Death place | Wellington |
| Nationality | New Zealand |
| Occupation | Artist |
| Known for | Installation art, feminist art |
Vivian Lynn was a New Zealand artist whose multidisciplinary practice spanned sculpture, installation, printmaking and drawing. She emerged in the mid-20th century art scene in Auckland and became a leading figure in feminist and conceptual art in New Zealand, exhibiting nationally and internationally. Her work interrogated gender, power, animal symbolism and human-animal relationships, gaining recognition from institutions such as the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, and City Gallery Wellington.
Born in 1931 in Auckland, she attended local schools before pursuing formal art training at the Elam School of Fine Arts at the University of Auckland. After studies there she travelled to Australia and Europe for further development, attending workshops and engaging with contemporary art movements in cities such as London and Paris. Influences during this period included encounters with work by Barbara Hepworth, Henry Moore, and the emergent conceptual practices associated with artists in New York and Berlin.
Her career began in the late 1950s and continued through seven decades, encompassing solo exhibitions, group shows and public commissions across New Zealand, Australia, United Kingdom and the United States. She exhibited with major galleries including Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, Hocken Collections, Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, Canterbury Museum and international venues such as the Biennale of Sydney and artist-run spaces in London and New York. Collaborations and residencies with institutions like University of Canterbury and Massey University supported experimental installations that combined object-making with archival and found materials.
Her practice consistently explored themes of gendered violence, animality, ritual and the symbolic use of skins, bones and fabrics. She used taxidermy and sculptural casts alongside prints and drawings to address representations of women in art history and popular culture, referencing sources ranging from Gustave Courbet and Francisco Goya to contemporary feminist writers and theorists. Methodologically she employed processes associated with assemblage, installation and print editions, engaging with curators and critics from institutions such as City Gallery Wellington and Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki to place work in dialogue with collections and archives.
Retrospectives of her work were mounted by major New Zealand institutions including a survey at Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki and a national tour coordinated with Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa and regional galleries like the Dunedin Public Art Gallery and Govett-Brewster Art Gallery. She participated in international group exhibitions at events such as the Biennale of Sydney and exhibited in thematic shows organised by curators from Te Papa and university galleries at Victoria University of Wellington. Key solo exhibitions presented large-scale installations that toured to institutions in Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin.
Her contributions were recognised with awards and honours from arts bodies including grants from Creative New Zealand and fellowships administered by tertiary institutions such as Massey University and University of Auckland. Her work was acquired by national collections including Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki and university museums, and she was the subject of critical essays in journals associated with New Zealand School of Art scholarship and exhibition catalogues produced by major galleries.
She taught at art schools and universities, influencing generations of artists through positions and visiting lecturships at institutions such as Elam School of Fine Arts, Massey University, and community art centres in Auckland and Wellington. Her mentorship and public talks connected her to an international network of artists and curators including peers from the Biennale of Sydney circuit and artist-run initiatives in London and New York, shaping dialogues around feminist practice and interdisciplinary installation in New Zealand art education.
She lived and worked mainly in Wellington and remained active into the 21st century, leaving a body of work held in major public and private collections across New Zealand and overseas. Her legacy is visible in contemporary feminist and installation practices within institutions such as Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki and Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, and in scholarship produced by curators and academics at universities including Victoria University of Wellington and University of Auckland. Her work continues to be cited in exhibitions and publications addressing gender, animal studies and the history of New Zealand art.
Category:New Zealand artists Category:1931 births Category:2018 deaths