JAN SENBERGS

Senbergs was born in Latvia where at fifteen he was apprenticed as a screen-printer. He migrated to Australia in 1950, where he attended the art school of the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in the late 1950s. In 1966 he was the recipient of the Helena Rubenstein Travelling Art Scholarship and subsequently studied in Europe and England, returning to Australia to teach part-time at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology.

Senbergs’ early prints have been described as ‘medieval town maps,’ while his mature paintings recognise the predominance of the 19^th century industrial revolution and its all-pervading influence in the 20^th century. For example, his paintings of the defunct asbestos mining town of Wittenoom allude to the tragedy of the site as well as its longstanding history and the presence of the Aboriginal Wandjani figures of North West Australia.

In 2003 Senbergs received the Order of Australia. His work is held in the collections of the National Gallery in Washington D.C and the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne.