Fred Graham (Ngāti Korokī Kahukura, Tainui) - Touring Exhibition Featuring A Legend Of Aotearoa New Zealand Art

A touring exhibition, developed by Te Uru Waitākere Contemporary Gallery, provides a rare opportunity for Ōtautahi to see wood, stone and steel sculpture works made by a legend of Aotearoa New Zealand art.

The exhibition celebrates the life’s work of esteemed contemporary Māori sculptor Fred Graham (Ngāti Korokī Kahukura, Tainui). Featuring works made between 1965 and 2013, the collection showcases eight relief works, or wall-based carvings, and five freestanding sculptures.

Fred Graham: Toi Whakaata / Reflections will be shown at Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū from 31 May to 5 October 2025, with one special addition just for Ōtautahi Christchurch – a major stainless steel sculpture, Rangi me Papa, made by Graham in 1987 and held in the Ara Institute art collection.

A pioneer of the contemporary Māori art movement in the 1960s and 70s, Graham – together with several other artist-educators, including Sir Cliff Whiting and Ralph Hotere – explored how traditional Māori art could be contemporised by drawing from European modernist styles.

“We started to evolve our own form of art as a result of mixing both together,” Graham said. “Because to me, as far as I’m concerned, we should be expressing life as the time we’re living it, because, in turn, it becomes history.”  

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While in form Graham’s style is defined by modernist simplicity, his focus on Māori history and pūrākau (storytelling) allows him to connect with enduring themes. Graham’s love for birds also features prominently. 

“In the old days, because Māori had no written language, the only way that they could express themselves, other than by their voices and tone of their voices, was to carve – and to carve their stories in wood because that was the only material they had. And so, I tended to still use that idea of telling a story using a sculpture.”

The award-winning artist is best known for his large-scale public commissions, and his sculptures can be found around Tamaki Makaurau Auckland and elsewhere in Aotearoa. 

In 2017, Graham received Te Tohu Aroha mō Te Arikinui Dame Te Atairangikaahu (the Exemplary/Supreme Award) in Creative New Zealand’s Te Waka Toi Awards. The following year, he received an Arts Foundation Icon Award, Whakamana Hiranga, and in 2024 he was named a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit.

He has also exhibited internationally, most notably at the prestigious Venice Biennale in 2024 as one of five artists invited from Aotearoa, including his son, Brett, who is also an acclaimed artist. 

Brett Graham spoke with Hester Rowan, who curated Toi Whakaata / Reflections, about his father’s lasting influence.

“Māori contemporary artists made visible an indigenous landscape that was buried under layers of colonial infrastructure and buildings, and seldom acknowledged. For all of his works, this is the first port of call, acknowledging this depth of history. This is his legacy.”

Christchurch Art Gallery curator Felicity Milburn says Toi Whakaata / Reflections offers a rare opportunity to see a dynamic encapsulation of Fred’s career. 

“These works are beautiful, evocative and incredibly skilful. Fred has made an enormous contribution to the art of this country, and we’re very lucky to be able to show so much of his work here.”

Fred Graham: Toi Whakaata / Reflections opens on Saturday 31 May with an introductory talk  at 11am in the auditorium. 

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