Grahame Sydney
Grahame Sydney is a significant New Zealand painter and draughtsman. his magnificent landscapes of Central Otago hang in public and private collections in New Zealand and abroad, including Elton John, Nelson Mandela and actor Sam Neill. "It seems to me that the essentials of landscape are seen with the heart. There's a lot of feeling in his work, but it's not up front, it's not indulgent, it's not demanding of emotion - but there's a lot of emotional tension there in the paintings" - Owen Marshall. Sydney's publication, The Art of Grahame Sydney, scooped the pool at the Montana New Zealand Book Awards 2000 winning the Montana Medal, the top non-fiction prize, the Reader's Choice Award and the Illustrative Arts category. The book gives a comprehensive survey of Sydney's enormously varied body of work and includes 143 reproductions and 9 photographs. The much-loved award-winning book Timeless Land, featuring a number of Sydney landscapes, was first published in 1995: it is a passionate portrayal of the Central Otago region by Sydney and his great friends - poet Brian Turner and writer Owen Marshall, with an introduction by Sam Neill.
Grahame Sydney has work in major public and private collections in New Zealand. The iconic, Rozzie at Pisa, now hangs in the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, and his Self-portrait at 50 has been purchased by the Christchurch Art Gallery. Sydney works from studios in both Dunedin and Central Otago and continues his sporting and fitness interests. He has exhibited rarely. The 25-year, travelling retrospective, Regions of the Heart, was held at the Dunedin Public Art Gallery from November 1999 to February 2000.
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