Joan Gragg

Joan Gragg
Born
Joan Elisabeth Gragg

1943 (age 80–81)
Rarotonga, Cook Islands
Alma materAuckland University of Technology
Known forpainting, drawing
Notable workThe Nuku (2008)
Styleeveryday life of the Cook Islands

Joan Elisabeth Gragg (also Joan Rolls-Gragg, Joan Rolls Gragg; born 1943) is a senior artist and educator from the Cook Islands, with painting career spanning five decades.[1] She founded the Cook Islands' first and only premier art gallery, Beachcomber Contemporary Art (now Bergman Gallery), in 1991. Gragg graduated with a Master of Art and Design degree from Auckland University of Technology in 2010.[2][1] There was an opportunity for Gragg to work towards a doctorate in art but she has discounted that for the meantime.[3]

Gragg's practice centres on the changes to everyday life in the Cook Islands,[4] exploring changes over the decades, with people drifting further apart with the introduction of new technology such as new forms of transportation as opposed to walking, and single plastic chairs instead of traditional wooden benches.[3] According to Gragg, she aims to showcase the "joy, camaraderie, love, and all the other great things that happen in a community in the Cook Islands",[1] and to visually express the humour of the Cook Islands through her art.[5] Gragg also stated she enjoys painting the beauty of everyday life in the Cook Islands.[6] In 2024, Gragg was featured in Aotearoa Art Fair. [7]

Gragg has been exhibited extensively in the Cook Islands, as well as in New Zealand. Her work is held in numerous private and major public collections throughout the Cook Islands as well as New Zealand. Such as Cook Islands National Museum,[8] University of the South Pacific,[9] and the Belinda Fletcher Collection.[10]

Selected solo exhibitions

Selected group exhibitions

  • 2024: Aotearoa Art Fair, Viaduct Events Centre, Auckland, New Zealand[13]
  • 2024: Autumn Selection, Bergman Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand[14]
  • 2023: Ta Mataora, Bergman Gallery, Rarotonga, Cook Islands[15]
  • 2023: Horizon, Bergman Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand[16][17]
  • 2020: Tatou 2, The Story of Us, Bergman Gallery, Rarotonga, Cook Islands[8]
  • 2002: Aue Te Mataora, BCA Gallery, Rarotonga, Cook Islands[8]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Religious celebration basis of Gragg's new exhibition". Cook Islands News. 11 April 2023. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
  2. ^ "Check a graduate's qualification". AUT. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
  3. ^ a b "Joan-artist of the "now"". Cook Islands Herald. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
  4. ^ "'Work here and enjoy living here'". Cook Islands News. 28 March 2021. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  5. ^ Gragg, Joan Elisabeth (2010). Seeing the funny side: focusing on Cook Islands humour in the experience of the religious pageant Nuku (Thesis). Auckland University of Technology.
  6. ^ Fotheringham, Caleb (28 March 2021). "'Work here and enjoy living here'". Cook Islands News. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  7. ^ "What Are Galleries Showing at New Zealand's Biggest Art Fair?". Ocula. 16 April 2024.
  8. ^ a b c d e "Joan Gragg - CV". Artsy. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
  9. ^ University of South Pacific Public Art Collection Catalogue (PDF). Rarotonga, Cook Islands: University of South Pacific. 2022. pp. 22–23.
  10. ^ williams, Kate Davidson and alden (30 April 2014). "Off the Wall". Stuff. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  11. ^ "The Nuku". artguide.artforum.com. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
  12. ^ "Underneath the Mango Tree". Artnow. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
  13. ^ "A feast for the eyes: Umukai transports viewers to the Cook Islands". Cook Islands News. 11 May 2024. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  14. ^ "Autumn Selection". Artnow. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  15. ^ "Ta Mataora | Contemporary Hum". contemporaryhum.com. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  16. ^ "Horizon". The Big Idea. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
  17. ^ Magazine, Verve (15 October 2023). "The Art of October". Verve Magazine. Retrieved 19 December 2023.