Graham Bennett
“My work is a convoluted journey of tangents and overlays, providing opportunities to trigger questions for myself and others about who, where and when we are or perhaps to challenge what balance means in our life, actions and relationships with the earth and with others. “ Graham Bennett
Born in Nelson, Graham Bennett graduated from the University of
Canterbury School of Fine Arts, where he trained in photography.
His practice evolved to sculpture because of his interest in forms
within three-dimensional space, particularly the human figure. This
combined with his overseas travels after art school led to an
ongoing fascination with movement, maps, navigation, measurements,
and the shaping of identity through associations with
place.
Stainless steel, stone, wood, or bronze, large scale public
sculpture, intricate miniatures, or mixed media drawings, Graham's
work is "based in the patterns and place of Aotearoa New Zealand -
but it has a universality that resonates internationally and cross
culturally. It derives from a knowledge of history and humankind,
an emotive bond between identity and place and an enquiring mind
that is alert to questions of connection. Painstaking examination
of detail and an awareness of the broader framework, coupled with
an eye that is tuned to pattern and shape, is the essence of Graham
Bennett's work." (Robin Woodward) These qualities can be seen in
the environmentally responsive works, moving with the wind or
casting dramatic shadows to create yet another trajectory.
Graham's public sculptures grace the foreground of the
Christchurch Art Gallery and Connell's Back Sculpture Park and
Rocky Bay on Waiheke Island as well as Kurashiki City in Japan,
among others. Graham has held numerous solo exhibitions throughout
New Zealand and Japan and has participated in group shows
internationally.
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