Fascinated by the magic of line and paint since childhood, Grahame Sydney has become one of New Zealand’s most significant and enduring artists, anchored firmly in the heartland of Central Otago.
Born in Dunedin, New Zealand, in 1948 he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1969. Following his first solo exhibition at the Moray Gallery (Dunedin) in 1972, he spent a period overseas in the United Kingdom and Europe before returning to Dunedin in 1974 to begin life as a full-time artist. Sydney’s work now spans over four decades and encompasses oils, watercolours, egg tempera, lithographs, etching, photography and film. There is a somewhat surreal quality, an ineffable tension, to his dramatic works.
