Artist Statement

My practice begins with cloth, often raw linen or vintage fabric that holds the patterns of its making. I work into it with ink, colour and gesture, allowing the layers to stain or wash over the cloth, revealing its history or covering it up.

In my figurative work, the subject's mask is down and an unguarded moment is caught: exhaustion, frustration or humour, the rollercoaster of modern living.

In another series the figure has gone and pigment and water are left. Similar to fragrance, colour evokes memory and emotion. A colour field, at whatever scale, becomes a chance to lean in and enquire into subtle marks and details, or to relax into the experience of the overall colour.

I work with my environment and the passing of time. Warmth, wind and the occasional small insect all leave their impression. Likewise, time decides which moments fade and which become lasting memories – marks bleed into nothing overnight, or water dries to reveal a harsh new edge, and all of it becomes part of the work. In an ever-human way I attempt to steer the result, but in the end the work gently reminds me, and hopefully the viewer, of the control we never really had.

Biography

​Sally Greer is a contemporary artist working in figurative abstraction, based in Leigh, on the Tīkapa Moana coast north of Tāmaki Makaurau, Aotearoa New Zealand. Her practice moves between portraiture and abstraction, working in acrylic and ink on raw linen and vintage patterned fabrics.

She holds a Bachelor of Graphic Design from Auckland University of Technology and studied mixed-media painting at Central Saint Martins, London, where she first developed her process of layering fabric, washed colour and mark-making. While living in London she co-founded 57A, a gallery in Hoxton that brought together artists, designers and people who simply wanted to make and share work.

She is the founder of Beatnik Publishing, an independent press whose books have won PANZ Book Design Awards and been honoured internationally, including at the Bologna Children's Book Fair and the International Creative Media Awards in Germany.

Since returning to the studio, her work has been shown through Kim Meredith Gallery, including the two-person show Before They Knew Your Name with ceramicist Lisa Wong (2025–26) and the group show Wai Whetū (2026), and at Foundation Gallery, Leigh, as part of the Mahurangi Artist Studio Trail.

Exhibitions, Education & Awards

​Exhibitions & Open Studios

• Wai Whetū, group show, Kim Meredith Gallery, 4 July – 1 August 2026
• Mahurangi Artist Studio Trail, Foundation Gallery, Leigh, 2026
• Before They Knew Your Name, two-person show with ceramicist Lisa Wong, Kim Meredith Gallery, 15 November 2025 – 5 February 2026
• Solo exhibition, The Epicurean Lounge, Clerkenwell, London, 2006

Education & Training

• 2012 ART Venture, 18-month programme with scholarship and grant
• 2005 Mixed-media painting, Central Saint Martins, London
• 2001–02 The Prince's Trust Enterprise Programme, London
• 2000 Bachelor of Graphic Design, Auckland University of Technology
• 1997 Certificate in Foundation Studies (Art and Design), Auckland Institute of Technology (now AUT)

Selected Design, Publishing & Photography Awards

• 2024 PANZ Book Design Awards, Winner
• 2022 Bologna Children's Book Fair, Best Children's Publisher, Oceania
• 2021 PANZ Book Design Awards, Winner
• 2019 International Creative Media Awards (Germany), Award of Excellence
• 2017 DINZ Best Awards, Bronze
• 2000 New Zealand Institute of Professional Photographers, Silver
• 2000 International Photographer magazine, front cover and feature
• 1998 Agfa Young Creative Photography Awards, Gold