Brett Graham

Brett Graham is a prominent contemporary New Zealand artist whose work has been included in exhibitions all over the world. Highlights include the Venice Biennale 2007, the Sydney Biennale 2006 and 2010 and the 2013 survey of international indigenous art at the National Gallery of Canada.

Grounded in a Maori world-view, Brett's practice reaches out to embrace wider experiences and questions of power relations. His art addresses some of the most topical and pressing global questions about how people, cultures, nations and religions perceive and speak to each other. Brett, who is of the Tainui tribe Ngati Koroki Kahukura, is highly regarded for his ability to abstract complex political, historical and cultural ideas into strong sculptural form.

{"The fact that Brett draws upon the customs of Maori carving and recontextualises these practices within the language of contemporary art is what brings his work so much depth and makes it accessible for many different audiences."} Candice Hopkins, co-curator Sakahàn: International Indigenous Art, National Gallery of Canada in Art New Zealand#147, Spring 2013


Brett has a doctorate in Fine Arts from the University of Auckland and an MFA from the University of Hawaii. His work is in public and private collections around the world. He has also produced several major public artworks throughout New Zealand and undertaken artist residencies in Switzerland, the United States (New York and Hawaii) and Australia.

For more information or the artist's CV please contact the gallery.