Deborah Klein’s visual language is distinct. Through it, she explores feminism and women’s histories, shining light on those absent from history in often unexpected ways. Working across a wide-ranging practice that includes linocut printmaking and intricately detailed acrylic paintings, Klein constructs layered artistic narratives that resonate with both historical and contemporary significance.

In many of Klein’s paintings, the faces of her female subjects are partially concealed or obscured by masks. These masks operate on multiple levels: they adorn the figure with a seductively decorative surface while simultaneously creating a sense of distance. The sitter becomes detached and enigmatic, her interior world withheld from the viewer.

In Klein’s 2024 painting 'Lady Justice', the central figure is charged with symbolic intensity. A blindfold obscures the subject’s eyes, while the balancing scales of justice appear as earrings, transforming a familiar emblem into a personal adornment. In her characteristic manner, Klein fuses powerful female iconography with long-standing societal expectations surrounding women’s beauty and presentation. The resulting portrait is rich with tension - simultaneously asserting authority while suggesting the constraints historically imposed upon women.

Represented in public collections including the National Gallery of Victoria, Klein has won several awards over her career, including the Grand Prize, Silk Cut Award for Linocut Printmaking. In 2008 the survey show ‘Deborah Klein: Out of the Past 1995 - 2007’ toured to Castlemaine Art Gallery and Historical Museum, the Art Gallery of Ballarat, Warrnambool Art Gallery and Deakin University Art Gallery, Victoria. For collectors of contemporary and feminist art, this work is a compelling find.

Deborah KLEIN (1951 - )
'Lady Justice II' 2024
Acrylic on canvas panel
Image Size: 30 x 30 cm
Dimensions: 32 x 32 x 4 cm
Signed: Signed and titled on verso.

Comes with Letter of Provenance

Condition:Excellent.

(c) The Artist or Assignee