Māpuna for Saturday 10 May 2025

Mapuna interview with the late Maori art pioneer Fred Graham 

Photo: Julian Wilcox with Fred Graham at his home in Waiuku

This special episode of Mapuna pays tribute to a giant of contemporary Maori art - Fred Graham (Ngāti Koroki Kahukura) - who died yesterday at the age of 96. But age did not dampen his creative spirit or output. Just last week he unveiled a major new sculpture, Te Manu Rangimaarie, at Taupiri in the Waikato. His latest exibition Toi Whakaata / Reflections, opens at Christchurch Art Gallery on May 31. Fred Graham's passing also means that there are just a handful of survivors from the generation of Maori artists who emerged after World War Two who forged a new path in contemporary art. That group included Ralph Hotere, Paratene Matchitt, Arnold Wilson, Robyn Kahukiwa, Buck Nin and many others who have also passed away. In April 2024 Julian Wilcox interviewed Fred Graham at his home near Waiuku south of Tamaki Makaurau.