Judy Millar was born in 1957 and graduated from Elam School of Fine Arts at Auckland University in 1983 with a Masters of Fine Arts. She is one of New Zealand’s most internationally acclaimed abstract painters and has twice represented New Zealand at the Venice Biennale.
In her more well known works she uses large, sweeping moves to apply acrylic or oil paint onto canvas. She then uses the same motions to wipe, erase or scrape away the paint using rags or squeegees. The process of subtraction transforms the works into labyrinths of form and colour.
She has won several awards including the Moet and Chandon New Zealand Foundation Fellowship and in 2002 was nominated the winner of the Wallace Art Awards. Her work can be found in numerous public and private collections internationally and she now lives and works between Auckland and Berlin.