Grace is truly one of the coolest people I’ve gotten to speak to in a very long time, and this was such a stellar conversation. Unlike our other guests, the way I found out about her was far from straightforward. Though I did come across her work on social media, I found out about Grace while reading the interview she did with Public Record about her forthcoming show “Glimmer” at their space. Simple enough way to find out about an artist. HOWEVER, to the amusement of myself, Grace, and MANY others, I thought she was exhibiting at Public Records (the “s” is VERY important here) in Brooklyn, right here in New York City – NOT in Auckland, New Zealand, Grace’s native country. Very embarrassing mistake on my part, and one I did not divulge to Grace until our interview. No matter the major mix up that led to my introduction to Grace’s work, I’m very glad I found out about it because it speaks to something artistically that I’ve found myself intrigued by for a while: allowing your art to come to fruition through the practice of sectioning your process. Grace works with both metalsmithing and painting on canvas she stretches herself, or in the case of her most recent show: painting on organza and silk cotton sewn together by a clothing designer she is close with. The fact that her work is both literally and conceptually multidimensional is incredibly special to me as someone whose entire creative process at the moment hinges upon the importance of trust and collaboration.
“What I do the most in the studio and what I do with most of my time is investigate the relationship I have with the materials I work with, the boundaries of them.”
The importance of community (?) community was the cornerstone of my conversation with Grace. Even her show at Public Record is a byproduct of opening herself up to creating via collaboration: what started as an email from Masami Ono, an artist closely affiliated with Public Record, who reached out to express her appreciation of Grace’s work turned into two shows at Public Record, a trip to Japan to develop her most recent show “Glimmer,” her upcoming residency in Portugal this summer, and a group show in Tokyo this autumn. But taking it further back than that, it was community and trust in it that allowed Grace to begin to develop her artistry to begin with. Upon her return to New Zealand from a year in New York in 2020 where she largely worked on design, Grace used much of the early lockdown days during the pandemic learning to weld, and began to fill in the artistic blanks of what her style as a visual artist would look like. It was when she was granted studio access/space by a former instructor (turned mentor) from her time in school that she really began to be able to explore the extent of her vision. From that point forward, it was off to the races, and thank God. I earnestly believe that Grace is changing the way fashion, architecture, sculpture, and painting engage, and with references like Galliano at Margiela, Comme des Garçons, and Rick Owens, designers who exist at the intersection of those very concepts – it's no wonder.
“There’s so much creativity in facilitating the right people to do the right things that bring your vision to life.”
In addition to being a brilliant artist who I am excited about unlike any other at the moment (except you Morgane, love ya baby), Grace is the epitome of cool. Right now she’s excited by furniture design, light design, and the concept of ergonomics: how things exist in spaces, how that pushes up against the utilitarian purpose, and creating beauty in harmony with utility (particularly being able to do so with people who are exceptionally good at specific things that, when paired with her skill and vision, can create a truly exciting piece of art).
Essential to Grace right now are ritual, community, coffee, reigniting her hunger for reading (she recently particularly enjoyed Walking Through Clear Water in a Pool Painted Black by Cookie Mueller, a classic), and like any Kiwi: bush walks, time at the beach, and a nice swim.
You can find Grace on Instagram, and hopefully at a gallery near you soon.
