Jillian Goldberg grew up in the beautiful Cape in South Africa, surrounded by spectacular mountains and crashing Atlantic surf. Her memories of childhood color and light continue to inform her work, in her use of strong saturated palettes and a love of landscape.
She received a BA in Art Education from the Michaelis School of Art at the University of Cape Town and after immigrating with her family to the US, she taught in public and private settings for over thirty years. After retiring in 2006, Jillian continued to teach adults in the community, and she was invited to film three instructional videos on drawing, at the Jerry’s Artarama corporate offices.
Jillian enjoys painting abstract contemporary acrylics on large canvases that intrigue the viewer with strong colors and contrasts, lively gestural brushwork and unusual surface textures. She also enjoys creating smaller whimsical mixed media and collage pieces that incorporate found ephemera, vintage paper, handmade papers, ink calligraphy, and much more. Her collage series range from lyrical drawings and poetic references to intellectually challenging, deeply layered surfaces that conceal and reveal images and text.
She believes in the power of art to lift our spirits and to bring us back to the fundamental joy in beauty. Throughout history, time or place, people have craved beauty and respected it. There is a purity to authentic art which touches the soul and brings solace to the troubled spirit.
