Haurongo / Bio
photo by Don Gill
Brett Graham (Ngāti Koroki Kahukura, Tainui, b. 1967) is a sculptor who creates large scale artworks and installations that explore indigenous histories, politics and philosophies. Graham lives and works in Waiuku on the southern shore of Manukau Harbour (Auckland, New Zealand), though has been a constant traveller through his career, undertaking residences through Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa (the Pacific), North America and Europe.
He conceives his Māori whakapapa (ancestry) as a Pasifika/Moana identity and affiliated with a global network of indigenous and non-Western peoples. It is from this basis that Graham's work engages with histories of imperialism and global indigenous issues.
Works and resides in Auckland, New Zealand
2003 Doctor of Fine Arts (DocFA), University of Auckland, New Zealand
1990 Master of Fine Arts (MFA), University of Hawai'i, United States
1988 Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA), University of Auckland, New Zealand
Honolulu Biennial 2017, Sydney Biennale 2010, 2006, Venice Biennale 2007 and 2024
Graham's work was featured at the 2017 Honolulu Biennial, 2010 Sydney Biennale and 2024 Venice Biennale. His collaboration with Rachael Rakena, Āniwaniwa was exhibited at the 2007 Venice Biennale and their work UFOB was shown at the 2006 Sydney Biennale.
Download CV (PDF, 3 pages, 484KB) contact Brett Graham
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2022–2023 – Tai Moana Tai Tangata, Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū, Christchurch, New Zealand
2022 – Ark of Forbearance, Bartley & Company Art, Wellington, New Zealand
2021 – Tai Moana Tai Tangata, City Gallery Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand
2020–2021 – Tai Moana Tai Tangata, Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, New Plymouth, New Zealand
2018 – Monument, Two Rooms Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand
2017 – Properties of Peace and Evil, Parlour Projects, Hastings, New Zealand
Unsettle, Bartley & Company Art, Wellington, New Zealand
2016 – Brett Graham, Fehily Contemporary, Melbourne, Australia
2015 – Unsettle, Fehily Contemporary, Melbourne, Australia
2014 – Recalibrate, Two Rooms Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand
Plot 150, Bartley and Company, Wellington, New Zealand
2013 – Vision Mixer, Suter Art Gallery Te Aratoi o Whakatū, Nelson, New Zealand
2012 – Tangaroa Piri Whare, Two Rooms Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand
Shield of Antarctica, Fehily Contemporary, Melbourne, Australia
2009 – Āniwaniwa, Ten Days on the Island, Tasmania, Australia
Searching For Tangaroa, Bartley & Company Art, Wellington, New Zealand
2008 – Campaign Rooms, Two Rooms Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand
Āniwaniwa, Waikato Museum of Art and History, Hamilton, New Zealand (collaboration with Rachael Rakena)
Āniwaniwa, City Gallery, Wellington, New Zealand (collaboration with Rachael Rakena)
2007 – UFOB, Te Tuhi Centre for the Arts, Auckland, New Zealand (collaboration with Rachael Rakena)
Āniwaniwa, Te Manawa Gallery, Palmerston North, New Zealand (collaboration with Rachael Rakena)
2005 – Kohinga Rua, Waikato Museum of Art and History, Hamilton, New Zealand
2004 – Kāinga Tahi Kāinga Rua, Doctoral Exhibition, Auckland, New Zealand
2003 – Canoes of Oceania, Bartley Nees Gallery, Wellington, New Zealand
Kāinga Tahi Kāinga Rua, Adam Art Gallery, Victoria University, Wellington, New Zealand
2002 – Moengaroa, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, Auckland, New Zealand
Podes Antipodes, Art Felchlin Gallery Zurich, Switzerland
2000 – New Work Studio, Wellington, New Zealand
1998 – Place Tū Stand, Vavasour Godkin Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand
1996 – Bravo Bikini, New Work Studio, Wellington, New Zealand
1995 – Te Kōwhao o Te Ngira, Artis Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand
1994 – 1492–1642, Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, New Plymouth, New Zealand
1993 – Installation, Fay Richwhite Foyer, Auckland, New Zealand
1492–1642 toured to three centres:
Sarjeant Gallery, Whanganui, New Zealand
Waikato Museum of Art and History, Hamilton, New Zealand
Gisborne Museum and Arts Centre, Gisborne, New Zealand
Te Puāwaitanga – The Flowering, Artis Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand
1992 – 1492–1642, Te Taumata Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand
1991 – Te Ara a Papatūānuku, East-West Center, Honolulu, Hawai'i, United States
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2024 – Wastelands, La Biennale di Venezia / Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy
2024 – Wakefield Dreaming, Sculpture on the Gulf 2024, Waiheke Island, Auckland, New Zealand
2021 – Recalibrating, Bartley & Company Art, Wellington, New Zealand
2020 – Toi Tū Toi Ora: Contemporary Māori Art, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, Auckland, New Zealand
2018 – Wai, Brett Graham, Peter Trevalyan, Kate Woods and Bruce Foster, Bartley & Company Art, Wellington, New Zealand
Water Project, Ashburton Art Gallery, Ashburton, New Zealand
2017 – Honolulu Biennial : Middle of Now/Here, Honolulu, Hawai'i, United States
Transformative Landscapes: Contemporary Space, Time and Connection, MacKenzie Art Gallery, Regina, Canada
Sculpture on the Gulf, Waiheke Island, New Zealand
2016 – Sappers and Shrapnel: Contemporary Art and the Art of the Trenches, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia
Art16 London, London, United Kingdom
First World War Centenary Commemorative Print Portfolio Project, Australian War Memorial, Canberra, Australia
2015 – Now15, Fehily Contemporary, Melbourne, Australia
Wanted, First Nations University, Regina, Canada
2014 – Looping and Binding, University of Hawai'i, Honolulu, Hawai'i, United States
A Message from the West, Te Uru Contemporary Art Gallery, Titirangi, Auckland, New Zealand
2013 – Summer of Sculpture, Auckland, New Zealand
Sakahàn: International Indigenous Art, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Canada
Kaihono Āhua: Vision Mixer, Suter Art Gallery Te Aratoi o Whakatū, Nelson, New Zealand
Towards The Morning Sun, Campbelltown Arts Centre, Sydney, Australia
2012 – Multiply, Hastings City Art Gallery, Hastings, New Zealand
Partner Dance, Auckland City Art Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand
2011 – Ngā Hau E Wha, Ngā Tai E Toru, Fehily Contemporary, Melbourne, Australia
Introducing... Our Artists, Fehily Contemporary, Melbourne, Australia
2010 – The Beauty of Distance: Songs of Survival in Precarious Age, 17th Biennale of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
2008 – The Maui Dynasty, Suter Art Gallery Te Aratoi o Whakatū, Nelson, New Zealand
2007 – Āniwaniwa, 52nd International Art Exhibition La Biennale Di Venezia, Venice, Italy (collaboration with Rachael Rakena)
Auckland Art Fair, Auckland, New Zealand
Restless, Moving Image Centre, Auckland, New Zealand
Telecom Prospect 2007: New Art New Zealand, City Gallery, Wellington, New Zealand
2006 – The Arrival, Two Rooms Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand
Healing Our Spirit Worldwide, Art Gallery of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
History Lessons, Dunedin Public Art Gallery, Dunedin, New Zealand
Zones of Contact, Biennale of Sydney, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, Australia (collaboration with Rachael Rakena)
Manawa – Pacific Heartbeat, Spirit Wrestler Gallery, Vancouver, Canada
2005 – St Matthews Sculpture Exhibition, Auckland, New Zealand
Kaipara Art Exhibition, Kaipara, New Zealand
2004 – Sculpture Exhibition, Peter Webb Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand
2003 – Melbourne Art Fair, Melbourne, Australia
2001 – Parihaka, The Art of Passive Resistance, City Gallery, Wellington, New Zealand
Telecom Prospect 2001: New Zealand Art, City Gallery, Wellington, New Zealand
Pūrangiaho, Auckland Art Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand
1999 – 50 Contemporary Māori Sculptors, Dowse Art Gallery, Lower Hutt, New Zealand
1998 – Te Ara O Tainui, Waikato Museum of Art and History, Hamilton, New Zealand
1997 – Fred and Brett Graham Exhibition, Manawatū Art Gallery, Palmerston North, New Zealand
Asia-Pacific Contemporary Triennial, Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane, Australia
He Puaawaitanga Whakaaro – Recent Māori Sculpture, Govett Brewster Art Gallery, New Plymouth, New Zealand
1996 – Sculpture 96, Artis Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand
1995 – Te Kārohirohi Taonga, Waikato Museum of Art and History, Hamilton, New Zealand
Korurangi – New Māori Art, Auckland Art Gallery, New Zealand
Western Springs Stone Carving Symposium, Auckland, New Zealand
Tainui, Waikato Museum of Art and History, Hamilton, New Zealand
Te Ātinga, Rotorua Sculpture Symposium, Apumoana Marae, Rotorua, New Zealand
1994 – Art Now, Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington, New Zealand
Ten Years On, Fisher Gallery, Pakuranga, Auckland, New Zealand
The Gift Line, New Work Studio, Wellington, New Zealand
1993 – Pacific Show, Auckland Society of Arts, Auckland, New Zealand
1992 – Pacific Group Show, Auckland Society of Arts, Auckland, New Zealand
Awesome, Te Taumata Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand
1991 – Māori Contemporary Art Show, Wellington, New Zealand
Te Ātinga, Kapiolani Community College, University of Hawai'i, Honolulu, Hawai'i, United States
1990 – Graduate Art Exhibition, University of Hawai'i, Honolulu, Hawai'i, United States
Origins, Kapiolani Community College, University of Hawai'i, Honolulu, Hawai'i, United States
Bad Art, Community Arts Center, Honolulu, Hawai'i, United States
1989 – 47th International Winter Snow Festival, Japan
Graduate Art Exhibition, University of Hawai'i, Honolulu, Hawai'i, United States
1988 – Te Ara Hou, Gallery 5, Auckland, New Zealand
Stone Symposium, Western Springs, Auckland, New Zealand
Elam Sculpture Show, University of Auckland, New Zealand
1987 – Elam Sculpture Show, Artspace, Auckland, New Zealand
Māori Art Today, Gallery 5, Auckland, New Zealand
1986 – Elam Sculpture Show, Star Art Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand
SELECTED AWARDS AND GRANTS
2021 – The Arts Foundation Te Tumu Toi Laureate Award
2019 – Govett-Brewster Art Gallery's Creative New Zealand Artist in Residence
2016 – International Artists in Residence (iAIR) program, University of Lethbridge, Canada
2014 – Creative New Zealand (CNZ) New York Residency at International Studio & Curatorial Program (ISCP)
2005 – National Māori Academic Award, New Zealand
1997 – James Wallace Award (second place), New Zealand
1992 – Te Waka Toi grant for 1492–1642 installation Te Taumata Gallery, New Zealand
1991 – Hawai'i Craftsman Annual Show, Hawai'i, United States
Atsuo Okamoto Workshop, East-West Fieldwork Award, Japan
1989 – East-West Center Degree Scholarship, Honolulu, Hawai'i, United States
Tainui Scholarship, Waikato, New Zealand
John Weeks Trust Art Competition, University of Auckland, New Zealand
1987 – Elam Art Scholarship, University of Auckland, New Zealand
Winiata Memorial Prize, New Zealand
PUBLIC COLLECTIONS AND COMMISSIONS
MTG, Hawke's Bay, Napier, New Zealand, Riki, Riki (inverted), Rura, Rura (inverted), 2017
Horotiu Pā, Hamilton, Te Rongopai and Puna Roimata, 2015
Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia, 30 15 S 131 58 E, 40 00 S 147 91 E, 25 21 S 131 03 E, 2015
Victoria University of Wellington, Rāwhiti, 2014
University West Oahu, Hawai'i, United States, Target Island Series, 2014
Honolulu Museum of Art, Hawai'i, United States, Snitch, 2014
MacKenzie Art Gallery, Regina, Canada, Pioneer, 2014
Waikato Museum of Art and History, Hamilton, New Zealand, Plot 150, 2013
Ernst & Young, Simon Moore Memorial Sculpture, Te Au Marino, 2012
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia, Shield of Antarctica, 2012
National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, Australia, Mīhaia, 2010
Hurstmere Green Sculptures, Takapuna, Auckland, New Zealand, Mataoho Wall, 2012
Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, Auckland, Te Hōkioi, 2008
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington, New Zealand, Land Lust Lost, 2008
National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Canada, Āniwaniwa, 2007
Auckland War Memorial Museum, Auckland, New Zealand, Whaowhia, 2007
Te Manawa Art Gallery, Palmerston North, New Zealand, Foreshore Defender, 2005
Department of Courts, North Shore District Court, Auckland, New Zealand, Escape, 2002
Sarjeant Gallery, Whanganui, New Zealand, Kotahitanga, 2000
Tainui Endowed College Fore-Court, Hopuhopu, New Zealand, 2000
New Zealand Parliament Grounds, Wellington Sculpture Trust, Henry Lang Fund, Wellington, New Zealand, Kaiwhakatere, 1999
Adam Art Gallery, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, Kōwhatu Kārohirohi, 1999
King's College, Auckland, New Zealand, Ko Hamutana, 1998
King's College, Auckland, New Zealand, Ko Rāhui Puāwai, 1998
Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, Auckland, New Zealand, Tū Pasifika, 1998
Government House, Wellington, New Zealand, Tū West, 1998
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington, New Zealand, Te Korokoro o Te Parata, 1998
Fletcher Challenge Trust, Auckland, New Zealand, Te Piriti Puāwai, 1997
Gibbs Collection, Auckland, New Zealand, Ko Ngāruawāhia Toku Tūrangawaewae, 1997
Kornferry International, Wellington, New Zealand, Ground Zero Bikini, 1996
Auckland Institute of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand, Manu Tāwhiowhio, 1996
Centre Culturel Jean-Marie Tjibaou, Noumea, New Caledonia, Lapita Installation, 1998
Centre Culturel Jean-Marie Tjibaou, Noumea, New Caledonia, Kahukura, 1995
East Tāmaki Campus, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand, Te Moeamoea O Te Tauira, 1995
Waikato Law School, University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand, Te Matariki, 1994
National Bank of New Zealand, Huntly, New Zealand, Te Puāwaitanga O Tainui, 1993
Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, Auckland, New Zealand, Te Pū, 1993
Auckland Regional Authority, New Zealand, The Mythology, 1989
Maidment Theatre, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand, Nine Muses, 1989
Apple Computer Company, Auckland, New Zealand, New Dawn Eclipse, 1989
Telecom, Auckland, New Zealand, Waikato Awa, 1988
Library of University of Auckland, New Zealand, Tainui Begat, 1888
James Wallace Art Trust, Auckland, New Zealand
NZ Post Corporate Office, Wellington, New Zealand