Dina Goldstein

Dina Goldstein (born 1969) is a visual artist based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. She is a photographer and pop surrealist with a background in documentary photography.
Goldstein creates tableau with a nuanced visual language that places the mundane and everyday in unusual settings to inspire insight into the human condition. She is most known for her series "Fallen Princesses", created in 2007, which depicts humanized Disney Princesses placed in realistic, modern scenarios. The series envisions how the lives of these famous characters would have played out in the real world, and touches on such everyday scourges as poverty, obesity, cancer and pollution. Goldstein was awarded the Arte Laguna special prize in 2012. In 2014, Goldstein won the grand prize at Prix Virginia; her work was exhibited in Paris, France.
Early life and education
Dina Goldstein was born in Tel Aviv, Israel, and in 1976 emigrated to Canada. Goldstein studied art history and photography at Langara College in Vancouver, B.C., and completed her studies in 1993.
Photography
Goldstein's career in photography started with photojournalism and documentary work (1993–2000), she went on to photograph editorial and commissioned work for magazines and advertising agencies (2000–2009). Her first public exhibition was Images of Gaza (2001), a series of black and white portraits of people living in the West Bank and Gaza.
'Fallen Princesses' (2009)
Goldstein's first large-scale tableau series Fallen Princesses debuted publicly in 2009. The series was exhibited in numerous galleries, at group show at BYU Museum of Art, and in the Musée De La Femme in Quebec, Canada in 2013.
The series consists of 10 photographs depicting Disney Princesses and other Fairy Tale characters placed within a modern environment. By embracing the textures and colors created by Walt Disney, which built a multibillion-dollar empire exploiting these fairy tales, the work questions the notion of the idealistic 'Happily Ever After' motif, composed by Disney, and spoon fed to children throughout the world.
'In the Dollhouse' (2012)
In a series of large-format photographic tableaus, Goldstein creates a storyline for the Barbie and Ken dolls, using real-life models. Trapped in a loveless marriage, Ken struggles with his sexuality. Using sequential story-telling, Goldstein creates a bright, plastic, pop-surrealist narrative. "The series unfolds a tragicomic tale of the perils of being plastic and the potential for salvation through authenticity. Barbie gets the short end of that stick – in Goldstein’s telling of her story, she endures psychological dysfunction, an emotional breakdown, a really bad haircut and, ultimately, decapitation. Ken finds his authenticity and finally realizes true happiness".
'Gods of Suburbia' (2014)
"Gods of Suburbia is Goldstein’s third large-scale project. The work is a visual analysis of religious faith within the context of the modern forces of technology, science and secularism. The series plays with narrative and religious iconography in order to communicate how organized belief has become twisted within a global framework driven by consumerism and greed"
"By constructing a cosmetic reality, one that mirrors our own, Goldstein doesn't evade discussion, but rather creates it. In doing so, Gods and deities, believed to be too sacred for criticism, are personified and whose religious practices contradict their dogma".
'Modern Girl' (2016)
Modern Girl 2016, Inspired by Chinese advertising posters of the 1930s, Modern Girl examines identity, gender roles, diasporic cultures, and consumerism. By re-imagining iconic Chinese advertisements to critique the beauty, health and wellness industries, Modern Girl investigates how traditional gender roles, and individualistic consumer values have constructed and used women's bodies to market and sell products. According to Goldstein, the visual source inspiration of 1930's Chinese advertising posters is central in capturing the tensions of past traditions and the push for modernity: "The breaking away from filial tradition in this era saw the emergence of Asian women coming into their individuality," says Goldstein. "At the same time, modern gender roles and expectations opened the door to exploit the female form for marketing and advertising campaigns."
'Snapshots From The Garden Of Eden' (2017)
Snapshots From The Garden Of Eden (2017), was commissioned by the Contemporary Jewish Museum Of San Francisco for the group exhibit Jewish Folktales Retold: Artist as Maggid; based on 100 Jewish tales, collected and retold by folklorist Howard Schwartz, in the book 'Leaves From The Garden Of Eden'. For this Goldstein photographed a series of 11 large-scale black and white theatrical images, modernized scenes from each of the four primary types of tales: fairy tales, folktales, supernatural tales and mystical tales. The series features rich and ethnically diverse characters, made up of divine royalty, temptresses, supernatural spirits, and Hasidic figures. Goldstein uses dreamscapes and symbolism to explore, and subvert popular traditional Jewish themes like destiny, temptation, justice, wisdom, blind faith and circumstance. Snapshots From The Garden Of Eden is a traveling series, exhibited at the Museo Ebraico, Venice, in 2018, and currently being presented internationally at Jewish museums and centers.
'The 10 Commandments' (2019)
Dina Goldstein's latest work The 10 Commandments (2019), inspired by the election of Donald Trump in 2016, exposes the deceit, hypocrisy and misogyny displayed within the US body politic. The series seeks to examine the socio-political makeup of America through its political icons, the presidential figures that mark the most notable and controversial chapters in American history. Each tableau features a President portrayed through the prism of their politics, popularity and/or notoriety, further contextualized by a contemporary backdrop, and assigned one of the postulates of the Ten Commandments. These, often humorous, narrative juxtapositions aim to deconstruct the layers of political deceit, exposing latent hypocrisies and challenging the integrity of a system that is supposed to be a model of democracy and social progress. Although most political of her work yet, it aligns with the theme she continues to revisit in her art, one of disillusionment.
Awards
2020 Aesthetica Art Prize, Finalist
2020 Arte Laguna, Photographic section, Finalist
2019 Lucie Awards, Deeper Perspective, Honourable Mention
2019 Honourable Mention Julia Margaret Cameron Awards
2018 Arte Laguna, Belgium Residency Selection
2017 Black & White Spider Awards
2016 Sony Awards Short list
2016 Arte Laguna, Photographic Selection
2014 Prix Virginia, Paris, France Grand Prize
2013 International Color Awards, Fine Art Finalist
2012 The Big F Award, Framed Awards
2012 Selected for Art Basel
2011 Arte Laguna Special Prize Winner
2009 Popular Photography, reader's competition
2009 International Color Awards, Fine Art Finalist
2008 1st Place ‘Magazine Cover Art’, Applied Arts Magazine
2006 Nominee, ‘David Screams’, Black and White Spider Awards
2006 1st Place, ‘Ice Cream’, International Colour Awards
2004 1st Place, ‘Hands’, Applied Arts Magazine
2004 1st Place, ‘Trackrecord Exhibit Poster’ Applied Arts Magazine
2003 3rd Place, ‘Trackrecord Exhibit Poster’, Nikon PDN awards
2003 Top 10 Ice Cream Photo Life Magazine
2002 Nominee, ‘Manifesto of Fun’, Western Magazine Awards
2001 Nominee, ‘Home Wrecked’, Western Magazine Awards
1999 Nominee, ‘Dig It’, Western Magazine Awards
Notable exhibitions
Solo and group exhibitions
2023
Group, Studio Idan, Paris, France Le Corps Dans La Peau Curator: Luc Masson-Todeschini
Solo, Studio Idan, Paris, France Unchanted Realities Curator: Idan Wizen
2020
Solo, Museum of Jewish Montreal, Montreal, Canada Snapshots From The Garden Of Eden Curator: Alyssa Stokvis-Hauer
Solo, Art Mur Gallery, Montreal, Canada Gods Of Suburbia Curator: Rheal Lanthier
Solo, Castle of Compiano, Parma, Italy Fallen Princesses Curators: Opus in Artem
Solo, Masterpiece Art, London, England. Modern Girl Curator: Alex Cousens
Group, The Arts Company, Nashville, USA Dollhouse, Fallen Princesses Curator: Langley Burton
Group, Aesthetica Art Prize, Future Now, York Gallery London, England. Princess, Snapshots From The Garden Of Eden Curator: Cherie Federico
2019
Group, Musée de l’Homme, Paris, France. Alimentations: Nourritures/ Cultures/ Natures, The Last Supper, East Vancouver, 2014. Curators: Virginio Gaudenzi, Alexis Amen
Group, Juming Museum, Taipei, Chance and Coincidence, Taiwan. Fallen Princesses Curator: Hung-Chih Wang
Group, Pasinger Fabrik, Yes We Ken, Munich, Germany. In The Dollhouse Curators: Augusta Laar, Stefan-Maria Mittendorf
Solo, Head On Photography Festival, Sydney, Australia. Gods Of Suburbia Curator: Moshe Rosenzveig
2018
Solo, Addis Foto Festival, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Gods Of Suburbia, Curator: Aida Muluneh
Solo, Museo della Padova Ebraica, Padua, Italy. Snapshots From The Garden Of Eden, Curator: Domenico Maria Papa
Solo, Castello Cavour, Turin, Italy. Art Site Festival. Fallen Princesses. Curator: Domenico Maria Papa
Solo,Venice Jewish Museum, Venice, Italy. Snapshots From The Garden Of Eden. Curator: Marcella Ansaldi
Solo, Basilica of Sant'Ambrogio, Milan, Italy. Gods and Princesses Curator: Opus In Artem
Group, Ian Potter Museum, University of Melbourne, Australia. 'All the better to see you with: Fairytales transformed’ Curator: Samantha Comte
2017
Festival, Lishui Biennial Photography Festival, Lishui Museum, China. Where Does The Future Get Made? Gods Of Suburbia. Curator: James Ramer
Solo, Sidney and Gertrude Zack Gallery, Jewish Center, Vancouver, B.C. Snapshots From The Garden Of Eden. Curator: Linda Lando
Group, Contemporary Jewish Museum, San Francisco, US. Jewish Folktales Retold: Artist as Maggid. Curators: Pierre-François Galpin, Renny Pritikin
Festival, Contact Photography Festival, Toronto, Ont. Fallen Princesses. Curator: Belinda Chum Gallery House
Festival, Auckland Festival Of Photography, Auckland, NZ. Gods Of Suburbia Curator: Shahidul Alam
Group, Leaves from the Garden Of Eden: One Hundred Classic Jewish Tales, Contemporary Jewish Museum, San Francisco. "Curator: Pierre-François Galpin" → ·issou· ←
2016
Festival, Daegu Photo Biennale, Daegu South Korea. Curator: Issack Kim
Solo, Palazzo Flangini, Venice, Italy. Curator: Galleria Bianca Maria Rizzi
Solo, Mesa Contemporary Arts Museum, Mesa, Arizona. Curator: Tiffany Fairall
Group, Once Upon in A Fairy Tale, Mart Photography Centre Yekaterinberg, Russia. Curator: Artem Berkovich
Solo, Dina Goldstein, Modern Girl, Virginie Barrou Planquart, Paris, France. Curator: Virginie Barrou Planquart
Solo, Gods Of Suburbia, Capture Photo Festival, Vancouver. Curator: Kim Spencer-Nairn
Group, The Girl Next Door, Haarlem, Holland
Group, Palm Springs Fine Art Fair, Palm Springs, USA
Solo, Collections, Central Dupon, Paris, France
Festival, Gods Of Suburbia, Art Souterrain, Montreal, Quebec. Curator: Raymond Cantin
Solo, In The Dollhouse, Rize Gallery, Amsterdam, Holland. Curator: Immechien Bonnet
Solo, Gods Of Suburbia, Madison Gallery, CA, USA. Curator: Lorna York
2015
Festival, Fallen Princesses, Rencontres Internationales de la Photographie En Gaspesie, Quebec, Canada. Curator: Claude Goulet.
Solo, Fallen Princesses, Playtime Productions and Opiom Gallery- Public Exhibition, Mediathèque, Mouans-Sartoux, France. Curator: Hélène Girault
Festival, In the Dollhouse, Fotografica Bogota Bianal- Photography Museum Colombia. Museum Director: Gilma Suárez
2014
Solo, In the Dollhouse and Fallen Princesses, Prix Virginia Overall winner, Paris, France: Jury Curated Organizers: Marie Descourtieux and Sylvia Schildge
Festival, Fallen Princesses, Rencontres Internationales De La Photographie En Gaspésie, Quebec, Canada Jury Curated: Festival Director, Claude Goulet
Group, Gods Of Suburbia, Sakshi Gallery, Mumbai, India. Curator: Igor Zanti / Arte Laguna
Catalogue Inclusion, In The Dollhouse, Musée d'Orsay Paris, France, Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera Catalogue Curator: Marie-Paule Vial, Director. Musée de l'Orangerie
Solo, XX, 20 Year Retrospective, Capture Photo Festival, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Festival, In The Dollhouse, Capture Photo Festival, Kimoto Gallery, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, Curator: Katsumi Kimoto
Solo, In The Dollhouse, Art Mur Gallery, Montreal, Quebec, Canada Curator: Rheal Lanthier
Group, Works On Paper, Papier 13, Montreal, Quebec, Canada Curator: Committee Papier 13
Solo, Fallen Princesses, Musee Femme, Quebec Traveling exhibition, Curator: Marie-Eve Desautels
Group, Fallen Princesses, Brigham Young University Museum of Art, We Could Be Heros, Utah, U.S.A. Curator: Jeff Lambson
Group, Fallen Princesses, OUT / OFF - Mumbai, India Curator: Kanchi Mehta, Chameleon Art Projects
Group, Fallen Princesses, Venice Arsenale, Arte Laguna, Venice, Italy, Curator: Igor Zanti
Group, Fallen Princesses, Please Lie to Me, Art Mûr's 15th Anniversary
2010
Festival, Fallen Princesses, Bielsko-Biala FotoArt Festival, Poland, Curator: Inez Baturo
Solo, Fallen Princesses, Buschlen Mowatt Gallery, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, Curator: Barrie Mowatt
2005
Solo, Trackrecord, Gallery L’Opera, 2004 Paris, France, Curator: Guy Berube
2004
Solo, Trackrecord, Pendulum Gallery, Vancouver, B.C.
2003
Group, David, Exposure Gallery, Vancouver, B.C. Curator: Ian McGuffie
2001
Solo, Images of Gaza, Naamat Gallery, Tel Aviv, Israel Sidney and Gertrude Gallery, Vancouver, B.C
Personal life
Goldstein lives in East Vancouver with her filmmaker husband, Jonas Quastel. She has two daughters, Jordan and Zoe.
References
External links
2020 The Guardian, The 10 Commandments
DOHO MAGAZINE - The 10 Commandments
The Sydney Morning Herald
Arttribune
KQED
L'Oeil De La Photography
Dina Goldstein and Pop Surrealism
China girl: Dina Goldstein's Satirical Pinups
AI-AP: Profiles
Dina Goldstein, Modern Girls
*Times Of Israel
NERDsociety Interview
In The Dollhouse in Feature Shoot
2013 Moulot, Dora. Le Monde- France
2013 Sarno, Marco. La Repubblica- Italy
2013 Folie-Boivin, Émilie. Le Devoir- Canada
Dark and Twisted Fairy Tales
1969 births
Living people
Artists from Vancouver
Canadian photographers
Canadian photojournalists
Canadian women artists
Jewish Canadian artists
Israeli emigrants to Canada
Israeli Jews
Artists from Tel Aviv
Jewish Canadian journalists