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  • Percy-NZ-ARtist-abroad.jpg

    Graham Percy, The New Zealand Artist Abroad, 2003, ink and pencil, 760 x 560 mm. Wellington City Council Art Collection. Used with permission of the Estate of Graham Percy.

  • Percy-Washday-on-the-Coast.jpg

    Graham Percy, Washday on the Coast . . . , 2005, ink and acrylic, 478 x 636 mm. Used with permission of the Estate of Graham Percy.

  • Percy-A-Kiwi-in-Venice.jpg

    Graham Percy, A Kiwi in Venice, 2004, ink and pencil, 280 x 379 mm. Used with permission of the Estate of Graham Percy.

  • Untitled-extract-from-a-visual-diary.jpg

    Graham Percy, Untitled, extract from a visual diary, c. 1989, mixed media and collage on diary pages, 240 x 164 mm. Used with permission of the Estate of Graham Percy.

The Imaginative Life and Times of Graham Percy

4 February - 25 April 2011 in the North Gallery

The Imaginative Life and Times of Graham Percy, developed in partnership between City Gallery Wellington and Gus Fisher Gallery, The University of Auckland, showcases the charming and immensely entertaining artwork of ex-pat New Zealand illustrator, designer and typographer Graham Percy (1938–2008).

Curated by leading poet, art critic and curator Gregory O’Brien, The Imaginative Life and Times of Graham Percy draws on the artist’s comprehensive collection of work; not only his published drawings but also his many works created for family and friends. These illustrations and ‘imagined histories’ depict an eclectic host of characters who go about their activities with strangely serene and determined attitudes—a Venetian kiwi complete with masquerade mask, Sigmund Freud in Dargaville and Johann Strauss recreated as a hot air balloon.

Though based in London for the majority of his adult life, Percy was born in Stratford, Taranaki and studied at Elam School of Fine Arts in Auckland. After graduating in the early 1960s, Percy worked as an illustrator for the New Zealand School Journal and collaborated with other Auckland-based writers and artists. He designed the typography for a number of Colin McCahon’s exhibition invitations and set up one of New Zealand’s first design consultancies with Hamish Keith. In 1964, Percy received a scholarship to study at the Royal College of Art in London, where he lived and worked as a successful illustrator and artist until he passed away in 2008.

Launching at City Gallery Wellington in February 2011, this exhibition is set to tour to a number of galleries throughout New Zealand. At City Gallery Wellington the show runs alongside an exhibition of photography by Percy’s wife Mari Mahr, Mari Mahr: Two Walking (with poetry by Gregory O’Brien and Jenny Bornholdt) (4 February–10 April 2011) in the Hirschfeld Gallery.

The Imaginative Life and Times of Graham Percy will be accompanied by the substantial 200 page publication A Micronaut in the Wide World—The Imaginative Life and Times of Graham Percy, written by Gregory O’Brien and published by Auckland University Press. The book will be launched at the exhibition’s opening, and signed copies available for purchase at City Gallery Wellington.

Public Programmes

Graham Percy Panel Discussion
Friday 4 February, 12:30–1:30pm

Curator's Tour—Graham Percy and Mari Mahr
Saturday 5 March, 2pm

Children's Writers and Illustrators Discussion
Saturday 16 April, 2pm

Media Release

Graham Percy—A Kiwi Returns from Abroad

Summer Season Principal Sponsor

 

 


Exhibition Supported by