ANTMANN, GISELLE (1946-2016)

"Panel II" (c.1980)
oil on board
100 x 80cm
signed on verso
*purchased from the artist
*private collection, Sydney
 
Antmann was a respected German-Australia Abstract Expressionist Sculptor & Ceramicist. Born in Germany to parents who were resistance fighters in World War II & survivors of the Holocaust. She spent her early years in Munich. In 1955, she moved to Sydney with her father. It was here she nurtured the beginning of a career in the arts. Giselle won a Commonwealth postgraduate scholarship & tutorship. Her flat in Glebe became a studio and she started to exhibit in open competitions with young contemporaries. Law was pushed onto the back burner although her parents never forgave her. After two years of tutoring, she walked away to live in New York and then London where she worked as a copywriter in publishing. She held her first major painting show in London in Shaftsbury Avenue, to rave reviews from the likes of the Tate Gallery. This lead to an acceptance into the famous St Martin's School Of Art to complete her Masters, but unfortunately due to illness, she returned to Sydney. She studied at the University of Sydney graduating with with Honours in English Literature & Archaeology. As well, she completed a Master of Arts in Ceramics & 3D Design at the University of Wales, UK. Giselle taught literature & visual arts in many tertiary institutions including the University of Sydney, The National Art School, the University of Western Sydney, Sydney College of the Arts & in the TAFE system. She wrote for many years as a freelance arts journalist for various publications. Giselle was studying for her 2nd Masters degree at the Sydney College of the Arts (USYD) when she became ill & passed away suddenly in Jan 2016. Her artworks are represented in several major institutions including the Art Gallery of NSW & the National Gallery Of Australia.