ZYLBERBERG, Sally

Background

Sally trained as a psychologist, both in her native South Africa, and here, after immigrating to Sydney in 1966. She worked first in a psychiatric clinic, and then as a counsellor, but had a career change some 20 years later, becoming a ceramic artist, and then another 10 years on, a sculptor, as she began using different materials and techniques, to express her ideas.

Professional involvement in sculpture

For many years, Sally served on the committee of The Sculptors Society, also editing the Sculptors Society Bulletin. She has exhibited and sold her works in Sculptors Society exhibitions at NSW Parliament House, Darling Park building, the Renaissance Hotel, and at St. Ives and Greenwoods shopping plazas in Sydney. She has also had work selected for exhibition in Hunters Hill regional art show, the RAS Easter Show, Ewart Gallery, Bondi Pavilion Gallery, Mary Place Gallery, Mura Gallery, Galleries Primitif, the Balmoral Artists Colony, and an outdoor show at Bicentennial Park, and with MAANZ, the Mosaic Association of Australia and New Zealand. In November 2024, her work was selected for an International Exhibition at the National Wool Museum in Geelong, Victoria. She has won many awards, and her work is represented in many collections both here and overseas.

Artist Statement

Sally’s most recent work, Material Family Matters, featuring Mexican smalti and stained glass, uses the form of a Baobab tree to reflect various themes important both to her family, and universally. The open hand indicates the give and take in families, with features around the form indicating family migration (a male and female in a boat, with flags suggesting going from one place to another), peril (the snake), the genie being out of the bottle, (a reminder about deeds and actions not being able to be taken back), and quirky plant growth (kids don’t always develop  as we expect!), amongst other themes not able to be seen in these images, such as stability and safety (a house), and the healing balm of music (a trumpet).

Another work, Clouded Senses – My 2020, is Sally’s personal response to the Covid lockdowns. Her feelings range from rage (the fire-breathing dragon), to calm (the fluid, gentle eel, opposite). The “see, speak and hear no evil” trilogy, is contradicted by prominent lips for the telling of truth, wide-open eyes for clear vision, and a megaphone trumpet, which releases a rhythmic ululating cry of anguish, as well as it’s opposite, soothing music, ultimately giving us hope. Sally’s conspicuous hand also indicates the life-affirming joy of touch, which sadly, was forbidden during the pandemic. In addition, there is a secret quirky school of fish underneath, only visible on close examination, an allusion to those hidden parts of ourselves, that we all have!

One other recent work, Roots Schmoots, another mosaic, mirrors trees on the southern-most shores of New Zealand, which are subject to harsh Antarctic winds. It’s a metaphor for families that struggle against the odds: they bend, but are not broken. The huge foot indicates stability, and a matriarchal female form, reclining along the trunk or spine, has embracing arms outstretched, to form a sheltering protective canopy.

In essence, Sally’s work is deeply personal, with reflections on morality, and the human condition. Her earlier works of anthropomorphic animals sometimes point towards archetypal, ancestral characters, as her baboon, Roots, with forelegs on pointe, and a tail shooting unrestrainedly skywards from anchored hind-quarters. Her bronze birds, a series of 6 birds with human feet, originate from dreams of angst in business. There is often some irreverent reference to the world around us. Some of Sally’s seals, a series of 5 seals, are wearing sunglasses, and are a comment on the folly of sun-worship and the depletion of the ozone layer, whilst others are about adolescent and other behaviour.

The penguin sculptures arose from the Antarctic trip. Sally sculpted the different species wearing clothing appropriate for their characteristics, so that the dapper little Adelphi, who dances about, wears a smart waist-coat, the untidy Royal with her bad hair day, is in a dressing -gown and slippers, and the regal King penguin wears a smart scarf. Keen observation, and a sense of fun is what they are about.

Email: sallyjoyzylberberg@gmail.com