New Zealand b.1961

Viky Garden was born 1961 in Wellington.  She has been an exhibiting artist since 1988. Her paintings reflect an innate sense of self within a post-feminist 21st century New Zealand. Mostly figurative in content, her primary themes are gender and social politics set within semi-autobiographical and allegorical narratives.

Using motifs such as simple domestic props enables Viky to express personal views in universal contexts.  Fabric and pattern are key compositional and thematic devices for her, visual links that connect past and present, and combine gender, memory and historical references

Pattern in women's art is often considered merely decorative (the implication being 'light-weight'), but for Viky it's a potent device, a language or code by which she can readdress and challenge this assumption.

Vicky’s painting surfaces have varied from rough hessian (backed on a solid board so that her line is firm), to flat smooth hardboard, to the stretched canvas paintings of Hinterland 2007. The roughness of hessian grain is exchanged for the fine skin-like surface of canvas, emphasising detail and luminosity.

Over the last twenty years, positive public response to her work has provided Viky with a loyal private following, so it's important for her to accept the validity of her own experiences and express them. While this can be a vulnerable thing to do, it is essential for Viky’s work.