Greer Lascelles Twiss ONZM (born 23 June 1937) is a New Zealand sculptor, and in 2011 was the recipient of an Icon Award from the Arts Foundation of New Zealand, limited to 20 living art-makers.
Greer Twiss | |
|---|---|
 Twiss receiving an Arts Foundation Icon Award in 2011 | |
| Born | Greer Lascelles Twiss 23 June 1937 Auckland, New Zealand |
| Education | Elam School of Fine Arts |
| Known for | Sculpture |
Career
editTwiss was born in Auckland on 23 June 1937,[1] taking up sculpture in the 1950s.[2] He graduated from Elam School of Fine Arts in 1960 with a Diploma of Fine Arts with honours.[3][4] In 1965, he received a QEII Arts Council Travel Grant, which he used to study lost-wax casting in Europe. He is best known for his works in bronze.[5] In 1966, he was appointed as a lecturer at Elam, and he eventually became the head of sculpture there in 1974.[6] He retired in 1998.[7]
Twiss primarily focused on life-sized sculptures in the 1960s, including the fibreglass series Frozen Frames, and the 1969 bronze sculpture and fountain Karangahape Rocks.[2] By the 1970s, Twiss began focusing on creating works that sound freestand within gallery spaces.[2] Works such as Barriers Site/Sight Works and Tripods are pieces which date from the mid-1970s, which explore spatial definition.[2]
In 1989, Twiss spent two months living in Europe, inspired to utilise the ideas he had developed there in his later works, such as Scene One Act One, a work where Twiss explored the differences between expectations of travel and reality.[2]
Works
edit
His works are in the Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki.[8] He has participated in many exhibitions including Volume and Form, Singapore; Content/Context at Shed 11 - Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa;[9] and Aspects of Recent New Zealand Art, Auckland City Art Gallery.[5] He has been the subject of two retrospective presentations by the City Gallery Wellington and by the Auckland Art Gallery. His work, Flight Trainer for Albatross, stands at the entrance of the Auckland viaduct on Princes Wharf.[5][10] and his large-scale bronze Karangahape Road Fountain has been a fixture of Pigeon Park at the intersection of Karangahape Road and Symonds Street since 1969. [11]
Honours and recognition
editTwiss was a guest contributor to the sculpture park at the Seoul Olympics.[5] In the 2002 Queen's Birthday and Golden Jubilee Honours, Twiss was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to sculpture,[12] and in 2011 he received an Arts Foundation Icon Award.[5][13]
References
edit- ^ Woodward, Robin (27 October 2011). Twiss, Greer (Lascelles). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/gao/9781884446054.article.T2214553. ISBN 978-1-884446-05-4. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
{{cite book}}:|website=ignored (help) - ^ a b c d e Caughey, Elizabeth; Gow, John (1997). Contemporary New Zealand Art 1. Everbest Printing. pp. 46–47. ISBN 1-86953-218-X.
- ^ "Selected Works 1965-1990". SCAPE Public Art. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
- ^ "NZ university graduates 1870–1961: T". Shadows of Time. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
- ^ a b c d e "Greer Twiss | Arts Foundation Icon". Arts Foundation. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
- ^ "Greer Twiss". whitespace. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
- ^ "Greer Twiss, A Survey 1959-1981". christchurchartgallery.org.nz. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
- ^ "Greer Twiss | Artist Profile, Exhibitions & Artworks". ocula.com. 13 August 2020. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
- ^ "Loading... | Collections Online - Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa". collections.tepapa.govt.nz. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
- ^ "Greer Twiss - Tumbling Albatross". Brick Bay Sculpture Trail. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
- ^ "Karangahape Road Fountain". Auckland Public Art. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
- ^ "Queen's Birthday and Golden Jubilee honours list 2002". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 3 June 2002. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
- ^ "43. Greer Twiss – Cultural Icons". Retrieved 13 August 2020.