Richard-Max Tremblay 1987 ©Betty Goodwin (1923–2008) was an important member of Montreal's artistic community. She used drawing, sculpture, and printmaking to represent the fragility of life in a complex and uncertain world. Attracted by the materiality of the objects and places she found, Goodwin made their history and innate characteristics visible. Themes of loss, mourning, transition, and the difficulty of communication permeate her work. Her art evolved in series and shows a great affinity with that of Joseph Beuys and Bruce Nauman, two artists whom Goodwin greatly admired. Goodwin's work is at once highly personal, social, and political, revealing the unease of our times.
Betty Goodwin has won several awards: the Paul-Émile Borduas Prize (1986); the Gershon Iskowitz Prize (1995); the Harold Town Prize (1998); and the Governor General's Award in Visual and Media Arts. She was also awarded the Order of Canada (2003).
Source: National Gallery of Canada
