Vivian Lynn

Vivian Lynn was a New Zealand artist and educator, known for her pioneering engagement with feminist discourse and her exploration of female identity. Best known for large-scale sculptural installations, she also produced collages, drawings, paintings, prints, books and photographs. She frequently incorporated unexpected materials, such as human hair, skin, and MRI scans of her own brain, to challenge established representations of the body and self. A committed advocate for women artists, Lynn played a key role in the establishment of the Women’s Art Archive in 1983.

Born in Wellington and raised in Lower Hutt, Lynn studied at Canterbury University College School of Fine Arts, graduating in 1952 with a Diploma of Fine Arts in Painting. She later undertook teacher training in Auckland and held several teaching positions, including Hutt Valley Memorial Technical College and Wellington Polytechnic School of Design.

Lynn exhibited widely in Aotearoa and internationally, including at Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, and the Adam Art Gallery Te Pātaka Toi, which presented a major survey of her work in 2009. Her work featured in events such as Expo ’70 in Osaka and the 13th Gwangju Biennale in 2021.