Born in 1945 in Montreal (Canada), he died in 2003 in San Bernardino (United States).He grew up in Los Angeles and studied art at the Chouinard Art Institute from 1966 to 1969, obtaining his BFA (Bachelor of Fine Arts), then at CalArts when it opened,from which he graduated in 1972 (MFA, Master of Fine Arts).
His work soon featured in a number of historical exhibitions, including «Pictures»(1977), organised by Douglas Crimp and Helene Winer at Artists Space in New York.
His practice, initially based on performance and sculpture, evolved towards experimental film and sound work, before concentrating on painting at the end of the 1970s. He moved to New York in 1974. His post-conceptual figurative painting is based on spectacular photographic documents of storms, cosmic explosions, bombings, fireworks, industrial accidents and thunderstorms - all representations of natural or human disasters whose images he appropriates. The smooth, accomplished look of his paintings contrasts with the violence of the subject matter, and they enjoyed great success in the 1980s. Weakened by depression, Goldstein returned to California in 1991. In the early 2000s, he was rediscovered at numerous exhibitions in Europe. He committed suicide on 14 March 2003, ten days after completing the book Jack Goldstein and the CalArts Mafia.
Artworks
Acrylic on canvas
71.65 x 95.67 in ( 182,9 x 243,80 cm )
Offset printed poster
24.41 x 16.93 in ( 62,5 x 43,5 cm )
Black vinyl - 45 rpm 7-inch record
Nine vinyls in nine different colours
Screenprinted poster with tipped-in offset printed image
19.69 x 18.5 in ( 50 x 47,8 cm )
Suite of 6 10-inch 33-1/3 RPM vinyl records housed in a hand-made, painted slipcase
