Jan Feliks Senbergs b. 1939

Also known as John Senbergs, Jan Senbergs, Jānis Šēnbergs
  • Artist (Painter),
  • Artist (Printmaker),
  • Artist (Draughtsman)
Jan Senbergs is one of that remarkable generation of European refugee immigrants whose sensibility so influenced Australian culture. His work has been featured in numerous group and solo exhibitions, including a major survey exhibition Imagined Sites - Imagined Realities at Heide Museum of Modern Art, Melbourne in 1994 and a survey of his career at the National Gallery of Victoria in 2016.
Tags: Refugees, Industrial Landscapes, humanism
You are viewing the version of bio from Sept. 14, 2022, 8:14 p.m. , as edited by Joanna Mendelssohn (moderator approved).
Revert to this revision Go to current record

Janis Senbergs was born in Riga, Latvia in 1939, and came to Australia with his mother, grandmother and younger sister in 1950 as a part of the great resettlement of refugees displaced by World War II, settling in Melbourne.
He left school at 15 and was initially apprenticed as a commercial silk-screen printer. His first art education was as a printmaker at the Melbourne School of Printing and Graphic Arts. This industrial background led to a high level of technical expertise that impacted on his paintings as well as his graphic work.
His subject matter ranged from industrial cityscapes to ravaged landscapes, just as he has throughout his career continued to experiment with different styles
The young artist was mentored by Leonard French and in 1960 held his first solo exhibition at the Richmond Gallery, under the anglicized version of his name, John Senbergs.
In 1964 he was included in the George’s Invitation art prize where a work was bought for the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.
In 1966 he held his first Sydney exhibition at Rudy Komon Gallery. Later that year was awarded the Helena Rubenstein Travelling Art Scholarship.
In 1973 Australia was represented for the first time at the São Paulo Bienniale in Brazil, and Senbergs was selected for the honour.
As well as undertaking major commissions, including a relief mural for the High Court of Australia, Senbergs was an active participant in cultural policy. He was a member of the Visual Arts Board of Australia from 1984 t0 1987 and a Trustee of the National Gallery of Victoria from 1984 to 1989.
In 1989 he was appointed Visiting Professor in the Chair of Australian Studies at Harvard University.
He has been the subject of a number of scholarly survey exhibitions, the first being Imagined Sites – Imagined Realities at the Heide Musuem of Modern Art in 1993.
In 2006 he was the subject of a monograph by Patrick McCaughey, Voyage and Landfall: The Art of Jan Senbergs.

Writers:
Staff Writer
Date written:
1999
Last updated:
2022

Difference between this version and previous

Field This Version Previous Version
Date modified Sept. 14, 2022, 8:14 p.m. Sept. 14, 2022, 8:14 p.m.
Related collections
  • Baillieu Library Special Collections, University of Melbourne, Vic. (collected in)
  • Government House, Sydney, NSW (collected in)
  • Artbank, Sydney, NSW (collected in)
  • Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia (collected in)
  • Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide, SA (collected in)
  • Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth, WA (collected in)
  • Athenaeum Club, Melbourne, Victoria (collected in)
  • Australian War Memorial, Canberra, ACT (collected in)
  • Chase Manhattan Bank, New York, USA (collected in)
  • Geelong Art Gallery, Geelong, VIC (collected in)
  • Heide Museum of Modern Art, Bulleen, Melbourne, VIC (collected in)
  • High Court of Australia Art Collection, Canberra, ACT (collected in)
  • Law Council of Victoria, Melbourne (collected in)
  • Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, USA (collected in)
  • Museum of Modern Art, New York, USA (collected in)
  • National Gallery of Art, Washington DC, USA (collected in)
  • Baillieu Library Special Collections, University of Melbourne, Vic. (collected in)
  • Government House, Sydney, NSW (collected in)
  • Artbank, Sydney, NSW (collected in)
  • Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia (collected in)
  • Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide, SA (collected in)
  • Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth, WA (collected in)
  • Athenaeum Club, Melbourne, Victoria (collected in)
  • Australian War Memorial, Canberra, ACT (collected in)
  • Chase Manhattan Bank, New York, USA (collected in)
  • Geelong Art Gallery, Geelong, VIC (collected in)
  • Heide Museum of Modern Art, Bulleen, Melbourne, VIC (collected in)
  • High Court of Australia Art Collection, Canberra, ACT (collected in)
  • Law Council of Victoria, Melbourne (collected in)
  • Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, USA (collected in)
  • Museum of Modern Art, New York, USA (collected in)