Artist Statement

My work focuses on recycling and a transformation of materials that have been discarded. I am drawn to the textured, dilapidated, rusted, weathered and decayed materials affected by the interaction of time and history. Through the materials I am stepping into the unknown in order to reconstruct by pulling apart, dismantling, manipulating and weaving a new story using the material as a metaphor. Sometimes the materials lead me, trying to dictate and sometimes I take the lead. It is a dance that creates something out of nothing. My work deals with the nature, human condition, spirituality and music bridging between materials, culture and history.

Bio

Israeli-born Talia Goldsmith studied art at the Kalisher school of Art. She came to South Africa in 1984. Influenced by her Yemeni roots and life in South Africa, Talia is fascinated with found materials, infusing her work with unusual and unique combinations of new and recycled items. When talking about organic forms, texture, weaving, stitching, manipulation and human labour, "Roots are the Essence.” Her work is a story that bridges material, religion, culture and history. Tali’s latest body of work, Sisyphus, incorporates a range of materials in an unlikely combination that come together to portray an absurdist dystopian vision. Her focus as an artist is a commentary on the human condition through means and metaphors of interrogating the human form, language, spirituality and music. Talia's work is represented in art collections in South Africa, Israel, Canada and the United States.

Three works from the Sisyphus series were recently acquired by Munich Re, an international reinsurance company renowned for its world-class art collection.

Group exhibition – Artyli Gallery, See Me Twice, March 2024
Group exhibition – Artyli Gallery, Whispers in Matter, September 2024
Group exhibition – Artyli Gallery, Kindreds in Abstraction, March 2025
RMB Latitudes, South Africa, 2023
Group exhibition – Graham Contemporary, Optimal Vibrations, 2023
Group exhibition – Graham Contemporary, Sunny Side Up, 2023
Group exhibition – Riboville Waterfall Estate, 2020
Group exhibition – Material Identity, Melrose Gallery, 2019
SculptX – Melrose Gallery, 2019
Group exhibition – Julie Miller Gallery, Mall of Africa, October 2018
Group exhibition – Priest Gallery, RMB Turbine Art Fair, July 2018
Group exhibition – Hazard Gallery, Maboneng, Tectonics, curated by Jonathan Freemantle, 2017
Group exhibition – Art on Main, 2017
Submission for the Dakar International Biennale, 2016
Stephan Welz & Co., Fine Art & Design Auctioneers, May 2016
Light the Flame exhibition, curated by Jessica Deutsch, 2015
S.Art Gallery, Hout Bay – Mesh and cement sculptures
The Gavin Project Gallery, Turbine Hall, 2015
Group exhibition – The Gavin Project Gallery, Arts on Main
Three Plus 1, group exhibition, August 2015
That Art Fair, Cape Town, 2015, The Gavin Project Gallery
Group exhibition – The Gavin Project, Garden Court Rosebank, 2015
Solo exhibition – Old Woman’s Gaol, Constitution Hill, 2014, Singing Roots – Sculptures in cardboard, glass, metal, wood, plaster, and cement
Solo exhibition – 2010, Kriah (Ritual of Mourning) – Sculptures in metal mesh and cement