Mona Goldman (Silverstein) grew up in Toronto Canada, moving to Chicago in 1943 to attend the Institute of Design which was directed by renowned Bauhaus artist, Lazlo Maholy-Nagy.

"Chicago was sensational! I was on my own and attending the most modern art school in the world, taught by the leading-edge artists of international stature on a dazzling range of subjects from architecture, photography and painting to industrial design and sculpture."

After marrying in 1947 and moving to Vancouver, Mona had her first solo show at the Vancouver Art Gallery in 1950. Mona eventually had over 20 solo shows in Vancouver as well as one in New York in the 1980’s. Her paintings are in numerous collections including the Portland Art Museum, Western Forestry Center, the Prince George Art Gallery, the Joan and Martin Goldfarb Foundation in Toronto in addition to private collections around the world. During that period, she also found time to teach painting at the University of British Columbia for 22 years.

"For a few years, I worked in complete isolation, then set aside painting for six years to concentrate on raising my children. During this time, I was exhibiting regularly in the juried British Columbia Artists' Annual at the Vancouver Art Gallery, and at the Pacific Northwest Artist's Annual at the Seattle Art Museum."

"The themes of my painting have varied from the portraits of my teens to the non-objective of the Chicago years. For a time, my work was heavily influenced by Abstract Expressionism. However, today the lyrical exploration of the natural world of the garden is my focus; I feel that each beginning is a step into the unknown."