Sylvia Marsters (b. 1962, Auckland, New Zealand) is a prominent artist of Cook Islands heritage, widely recognised for her meticulous and emotive depictions of Pacific flora. Marsters’ practice explores themes of nostalgia, cultural identity, and connection to place, often centring on hyper-detailed renderings of hibiscus, gardenia, and frangipani—iconic symbols of the Pacific landscape. Her work merges realism with a sense of romanticism, evoking both the personal longing of diasporic identity and a broader meditation on memory and belonging.
Raised in the Auckland suburb of Ōtara, Marsters initially pursued art through evening classes while working as a machinist in a clothing factory. Encouraged by her instructor, Lois McIvor, she began exhibiting in the mid-1990s, establishing a reputation for her refined technique and dedication to botanical subjects. In 2003, she was awarded the Cook Islands Artist’s Residency by Creative New Zealand, allowing her to spend three months in Rarotonga. This experience profoundly influenced her practice, deepening her engagement with her ancestral homeland and shaping the thematic direction of her subsequent works.
Marsters has exhibited extensively in New Zealand, the Cook Islands, Fiji, and internationally, including at VOLTA NY in 2014. In 2024, she marked her 100th exhibition with E Kura Reitumanava no Rarotonga at Bergman Gallery, Rarotonga. Her paintings, often described as ‘veritable roadmaps of patient brushstrokes,’ offer a lush, immersive viewing experience, transporting audiences to a Pacific environment where past and present coalesce.
Bergman Gallery | BCA has represented Sylvia Marsters since 2011.