Graham Bennett (sculptor)

{{Infobox artist

| name = Graham Bennett

| birth_date = 1947

| birth_place = Nelson, New Zealand

| nationality = New Zealand

| known_for = Sculpture

| education = University of Canterbury School of Fine Arts

}}

Graham Bennett (born 1947) is a New Zealand sculptor.

Early life and education

Bennett was born in 1947 in Nelson, New Zealand.{{sfn|Dunn|2008|p=165}} He graduated from the Ilam School of Fine Arts in 1970 where he trained in photography.{{cite web |title=Graham Bennett |url=https://www.grahambennettsculpture.info/about |website=grahambennettsculpture.info |access-date=12 December 2019 |archive-date=12 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191212200927/https://www.grahambennettsculpture.info/about |url-status=dead }} Interested in the human body and three-dimensional form, he became a sculptor, often combining natural materials (wood, stone) with stainless steel and bronze. He refined his practice as a sculptor while lecturing at CPIT (now Ara Institute of Canterbury) in the School of Art and Design.{{Cite web|last=|title=Graham Bennett- Seeking a Balance|url=https://artbeat.org.nz/graham%20bennett-%20seeking%20a%20balance|access-date=2021-04-14|website=ArtBeat|language=en-NZ}} Bennett lives in Christchurch as a full-time artist.{{cite web |title=Biography: Graham Bennett |url=https://www.brickbaysculpture.co.nz/graham-bennett-bio |publisher=Brick Bay Sculpture Trail |access-date=12 December 2019}}

Work

Bennett installed Sea/Sky Kaipara at Gibbs Farm in 1994.{{cite web |title=Graham Bennett |url=http://www.gibbsfarm.org.nz/bennett.php |publisher=Gibbs Farm |access-date=12 December 2019}} He is represented with four sculptures in the Brick Bay Sculpture Trail outdoor gallery at Snells Beach, north of Auckland.{{sfn|Dunn|2008|p=170}} For the World Firefighters Games held in Christchurch in October/November 2002, Bennett sculpted A Tribute to Firefighters from steel girders from the World Trade Center destroyed in the September 11 attacks donated by the mayor of New York City, Michael Bloomberg. The sculpture is placed on the banks for the Avon River immediately adjacent to the Central Fire Station in the central city in the Firefighters Reserve that was built for the games. A few months later, Reasons for Voyaging was installed in front of the Christchurch Art Gallery in 2003, consisting of seven angled stainless steel poles that are up to {{convert|13|m}} tall.{{cite press release |author= |title=Sculpture to Make Dramatic Entrance |url=http://archived.ccc.govt.nz/MediaReleases/2003/February/SculptureToMakeDramaticEntrance.asp |location=Christchurch |publisher=Christchurch City Council |date=18 February 2003 |access-date=13 December 2019}}

Bennett was one of five artists in residency at the 2012 Seoul International Sculpture Festa, with his commissioned worked, Tipping Point, permanently installed by Crown Confectionery in the Art Valley sculpture park in Haitai, South Korea. In 2013, he had residency at Lincoln University. During this time, he produced Oversight, a sculpture installed in front of the School of Landscape Architecture.{{cite web |title=08 October 2013 New Graham Bennett sculpture to be unveiled at Lincoln University |url=https://livingheritage.lincoln.ac.nz/nodes/view/11465 |publisher=Lincoln University |access-date=12 December 2019 |date=8 October 2013}}

Gallery

File:A Tribute to Firefighters 608.jpg|A Tribute to Firefighters (2002), Christchurch

File:Flickr - JennyHuang - Christchurch (New Zealand) (2).jpg|Reasons for Voyaging (2003), Christchurch Art Gallery

File:Oversight sculpture, Lincoln University Campus, New Zealand 07.jpg|Oversight (2013), Lincoln University

File:Push Away The Sky - 39755727071.jpg|Push Away the Sky (2015), Auckland Botanic Gardens

File:On Becoming Misdirected - 41625684562.jpg|On Becoming Misdirected (2017), Auckland Botanic Gardens

Notes

References

{{cite book |last1=Dunn |first1=Michael |author-link=Michael Dunn (art historian) |title=New Zealand sculpture : a history |date=2008 |publisher=Auckland University Press |location=Auckland |isbn=978-1869402778 |edition=2nd}}