TERRY GRAFF

Island View, New Brunswick

graffterry@hotmail.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/terry.graff.14

BIOGRAPHICAL PROFILE

Many people may know Terry Graff for his distinguished career as a curator, art educator, art writer, and gallery director. Graff has served as director of the Beaverbrook Art Gallery, the Mendel Art Gallery, Rodman Hall Arts Centre, Confederation Centre Art Gallery, and Struts Gallery. He has curated over 200 exhibitions, authored numerous articles, catalogues, and books on both contemporary and historical art, and taught drawing and sculpture at Mount Allison University. In addition to his many contributions to the advancement of the visual arts, he has maintained a highly disciplined studio practice and prodigious career as an accomplished visual artist. In the 1970s, ‘80s, and ‘90s, he exhibited his “Eco-Deco” works in numerous public art galleries, and was the recipient of major sculpture commissions, acquisitions, grants, and awards. In the new millennium, he shifted his attention away from presenting his work within the traditional gallery system and staged self-initiated projects (such as lighting one of his mutant duck decoy sculptures on fire and sending it over Niagara Falls) for particular audiences and select critical contexts. He currently works as an independent artist on a full-time basis.

Born in Cambridge (Galt), Ontario, Graff studied Fine Art at the Doon School of Fine Arts, Doon, Ontario, and Fanshawe College of Applied Arts and Technology, London, Ontario. He received a B.A. in Fine Art from the University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, and a B.Ed in Visual Arts from the University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario. He also studied art history, philosophy of art, media arts, and art education at Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan, received a postgraduate diploma in Fine Art (M.F.A. equivalent) from the Jan Van Eyck Academie, Masstricht, the Netherlands, and holds a M.A. in Art Education from the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, Halifax, Nova Scotia.

In his youth, growing up in industrial southern Ontario, Graff worked in various machine shops and factories on assembly and production lines, welded truck mufflers, grinded and riveted metal, and later handled car parts for General Motors. These experiences influenced both the content of his art and his use of industrial materials. In addition, his father, the quintessential handyman and inventor, who built his family’s home, was a strong role model. The disjunction between the uncreative, piecemeal work of the assembly line and his father’s skills and resourcefulness, intuitive understanding of machines, and natural affinity with materials, along with the conversion of the once natural landscape into a parking lot behind his childhood home, were significant factors in the evolution of his practice and theoretical concerns, and are reflected in his mutant birds, which can be viewed as displaced victims of our fragmented socio-economic environment.

EXHIBITION HISTORY

Selected One-person Exhibitions

2008-present New Work Graff Studios, Island View, New Brunswick

2003-2008 New Work Graff Studios, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

2000-2003 New Work Graff Studios, Ridgeway, Ontario

1993-2000 Graff Studios, Mermaid, Prince Edward Island

1994 Mississauga Civic Centre Art Gallery Mississauga, Ontario

1993 Saint Mary's University Art Gallery, Halifax, Nova Scotia; Beaverbrook Art Gallery, Fredericton, New Brunswick; Cambridge Galleries, Cambridge, Ontario; Struts Gallery, Sackville, New Brunswick

1992 Galerie Sans Nom, Moncton, New Brunswick

1990 Mini Galerie de Radio Canada, Moncton, New Brunwick

1990 Owens Art Gallery, Sackville, New Brunswick; Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, Halifax, Nova Scotia; Confederation Centre Art Gallery & Museum, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island; Aiken Bicentennial Centre, Saint John, New Brunswick; York-Sunbury Historical Museum, Fredericton, New Brunswick

1989 Restigouche Gallery National Exhibition Centre, Campbellton, New Brunswick

1988 Galerie d'art de l'Université de Moncton, Moncton, New Brunswick; Gallery Connexion, Fredericton, New Brunswick; Great George Street Gallery, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island

1987 Struts Gallery, Sackville, New Brunswick; Fog Forest Gallery, Sackville, New Brunswick

1983 Woodstock Art Gallery, Woodstock, Ontario; Ingersoll Creative Arts Centre, Ingersoll, Ontario; Marco's Cafe, Ingersoll, Ontario

1981 University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario

1980 University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario

1977 Jan Van Eyck Academie, Maastricht, Netherlands; Bonnefanten Museum, Maastricht, Netherlands

Selected Group Exhibitions

2013 Kingsbrae Gardens, St. Andrews, New Brunswick

2009 Gallery Connexion, Fredericton, New Brunswick

2007 National Arts Centre, Ottawa, Ontario

2005 Natural Resources Canada, Ottawa, Ontario

2003-2005 Finance Canada, Ottawa, Ontario

2002-2004 Natural Resources Canada, Ottawa, Ontario

2001 Canadian Heritage, Gatineau, Quebec

2000 Gallery in the Guild, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island

2000-2002 E-Smith, Inc., Ottawa, Ontario

1998 Gallery in the Guild, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island

1997 Gallery 12, Moncton, New Brunswick; Gateway Village Interpretive Centre

Borden-Carlton, Prince Edward Island

1996 Rideau Hall, Ottawa, Ontario; Canadian Heritage, Gatineau, Quebec

1995 Aberdeen Cultural Centre, Moncton, New Brunswick

1995 Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, Halifax, Nova Scotia; Hart House Art Gallery, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario

1994 Beaverbrook Art Gallery, Fredericton, New Brunswick; Memorial University Art Gallery, St. John’s, Newfoundland; London Regional Art & Historical Museum, London, Ontario; De la Banque d'Oeuvres d"Art du Conseil des Arts du Canada Moncton, New Brunswick

1993 De la Banque d'Oeuvres d"Art du Conseil des Arts du Canada, Galerie de la Ville Dollard-des-Ormeux, Quebec; Statistics Canada, Ottawa, Ontario; Studio 21, Halifax, Nova Scotia;

1992 Confederation Centre Art Gallery & Museum, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island; Creaghan’s, Moncton, New Brunswick; Expo '92 Arts Pavilion, Seville, Spain

1991 Gallery Connexion/University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, New Brunswick; Galerie Sans Nom, Moncton, New Brunswick; Gallery Connexion, Fredericton, New Brunswick

1990 Moncton Museum, Moncton, New Brunswick; Owens Art Gallery, Sackville, New Brunswick

1989 Gallery Connexion, Fredericton, New Brunswick; Galerie Sans Nom, Moncton, New Brunswick

1988 Niagara Artists' Centre, St. Catharines, Ontario

1988- 1994 Galerie Sans Nom, Moncton, New Brunswick

1987 – 1993 Struts Gallery, Sackville, New Brunswick

1987 Forest City Gallery/London Regional Art Gallery/McIntosh Gallery London, Ontario

1987 Owens Art Gallery, Sackville, New Brunswick

1983 Trajectory Gallery, London, Ontario; Artcite, Windsor, Ontario; Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery, Kitchener, Ontario; Woodstock Art Gallery, Woodstock, Ontario

1982 Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery, Kitchener, Ontario; University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario; MacDonald Stewart Art Centre, Guelph, Ontario

1981 Cambridge Art Gallery Cambridge, Ontario; Woodstock Art Gallery, Woodstock, Ontario

1980 Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery, Kitchener, Ontario; Woodstock Art Gallery, Woodstock, Ontario; Cambridge Art Gallery Cambridge, Ontario

1979 Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery, Kitchener, Ontario; Cambridge Art Gallery Cambridge, Ontario

1978 Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery, Kitchener, Ontario; Cambridge Art Gallery Cambridge, Ontario

1977 Cambridge Art Gallery Cambridge, Ontario; Jan van Eyck Academie, Maastricht, Netherlands; Bonnefanten Museum, Maastricht, Netherlands

1976 London Regional Art Gallery, London, Ontario; Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery, Kitchener, Ontario; Jan van Eyck Academie, Maastricht, Netherlands; Trajectory Gallery, London, Ontario;

1975 London Regional Art Gallery, London, Ontario; McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario

COLLECTIONS

Canada Council Art Bank

Province of New Brunswick Art Bank

Province of Prince Edward Island

The Canadiana Fund, Ottawa

Galerie d'art de l'Université de Moncton

Purdy's Wharf Development Ltd Halifax

Hawk Communications, Sackville, N.B.

Cambridge City Hall

Cambridge Art Gallery

University of Guelph

Jan Van Eyck Academie

Private collections in Canada, USA and Europe

HONOURS/AWARDS/GRANTS

2006 Fanshawe College Distinguished Alumni Award, London, Ontario

2006 Commemorative Medal for the Centennial of Saskatchewan (Official Honour of the Crown recognizing individuals who have made a significant contribution to the Province of Saskatchewan)

2005 Lieutenant Governor's Celebration of the Arts Pin, Saskatchewan (Award program honouring those who enrich, educate and entertain the people of Saskatchewan through accomplishments in and support of the arts)

2005 Recognition of Outstanding Contributions to the advancement of museums in Canada and to the activities of the Canadian Museums Association

2000 Christina Sabat Award for Art Criticism Sheila Hugh Mackay Foundation, New Brunswick

1994 “B” Grant, Canada Council for the Arts

1993 Explorations Grant, Canada Council for the Arts

1993 Creation Grant, Province of New Brunswick

1992 Canada/ New Brunswick Cooperation Agreement on Cultural Development, Province of New Brunswick

1992 Travel Grant, Province of New Brunswick

1992 Exhibition Assistance Grant, Province of New Brunswick

1992 Semi-finalist in Kitchener City Hall Sculpture Competition Kitchener, Ontario

1991 Finalist for Public Art Commission, Waterloo Recreation Complex, City of Waterloo, Ontario

1991 Creation Grant, Province of New Brunswick

1990 “B” Grant, Canada Council for the Arts

1989 Sculpture Commission, Purdy's Wharf Tower II, Halifax, Nova Scotia

1989 Explorations Grant, Canada Council for the Arts

1989 Exhibition Assistance Grant, Province of New Brunswick

1988 Exhibition Assistance Grant, Province of New Brunswick

1987 Exhibition Assistance Grant, Province of New Brunswick

1981 Purchase Award, Cambridge Art Gallery

1980 Juror's Choice Award, Woodstock Art Gallery

1979 City of Cambridge Purchase Award Cambridge, Ont.

EXCERPTS FROM PUBLISHED REVIEWS

Terry Graff won the City of Cambridge purchase award with a multi-media work titled “Dux-o-matic”. The central figure is a duck, which is seemingly propelling itself by means of bicycle sprockets and chain. It relates to his many sculptural assemblages, which comprise a mélange of wood and metal simulating the duck decoys found in an old-time shooting parlour.

Cathy Motherwell, 1979

Graff has examples of his highly kinetic, densely textured mixed media drawings on display, in addition to his junk-yard assemblages. One of his most intriguing is his large assemblage “Helix”, constructed of scrap wood and rusted metal materials, which can be seen as an arresting abstract composition as well.

Trish Wilson, 1980

A unique combination of the arcane and the familiar: found objects – watch cogs, transistors, bits of old wood, paint, wire, feathers – are brought together and transformed in ways that seem almost alchemical, in order to create new forms – creatures that resonate with mysterious implications.

Barbara Symington, 1987

Terry Graff’s work is confident and direct. His mixed media drawings and constructions reveal his social attitudes and his sense of humour. His “duck-works” examine the process of adaptation, technology vs. biology, through the symbol of the duck.

Janet Crawford, 1987

. . . a bizarre environment in which the natural elements and cycle of life have been subverted and distorted.

Christina Sabat, 1988

. . . piquant decoy duck assemblages crafted by someone with an incredible eye for beauty in the prosaic.

Laura Brandon, 1988

. . . the product of detailed environmental research, serious contemplation, and a large dose of playful industry.

Jan Mollison, 1988

The bright, faucet-head-eye of the decoy, the probing phallic bill, the scatological feathered tail of Graff’s burlesque ducks serve to deflate, invert, and shatter arrogant rational imposition of hierarchical values. The humour of metaphor and allegory links micro- and macrocosm in nature, satirizing the preposterous blindness of reason.

Ted Fraser, 1988

Graff’’s “Tantra Mantra” reconstitutes, from junk and dime-store plastics, a whole marshland ecosystem, complete with cacophonous sound and mechanized movement, as ironic counterpoint to Sackville’s Waterfowl Park and the Tantramar Marsh. . . . Both delight and dismay accompany every aspect of this complex installation. The enormous pleasure in the discovery of Graff’s “folk art” ingenuity is invariably undercut by irony – the core and thesis of his work for many years. This very awareness – of disaster impending, or already completed – is present everywhere.

Roslyn Rosenfeld, 1990

Terry Graff’s sculptural “Tantra Mantra” consists of a number of whimsical pieces, huge constructions of whirling lights, pulleys, belts and gears that animate an imitation of Sackville’s wildfowl park. Then there are his ducks constructed from found objects, perched around the room. All the marsh life is created from incongruous materials. Birds have beaks from garden hose nozzles and feet from electric mixer beaters and tail feathers from green plastic garden hose. Visually this tantra mantra world is weird and wonderful, and as amusing as Marcel Duchamp’s pieces.

Jo Anne Claus, 1990

Terry Graff’s installation “Tantra Mantra”, inspired by the Tantramar Marsh of the protected Waterfowl Park, is a mandala constructed of duck decoy sculpture made from industrial/mechanical items like egg beaters, clothes irons, steel, and garden hose. The sound is a screaming cacophony of wildfowl and industrial noise. The mandala has branches of steel ducks spinning on conveyor belts and of marshland tableaux with slicing parts of wings and ducks. It’s a socially-critical carnival about man’s nature, which is full of folly and destructive to the natural world.

Elissa Barnard, 1991

Based around the duck decoy motif, Graff’s electric-powered, sight-and-sound extravaganza features coloured lights, whirring egg beaters, lots of steel parts and other pieces of everyday objects, from garden hoses to bathroom light fixtures. The effect is made all the more unsettling by the use of separate audio tape tracks for each individual piece, featuring a combination of natural and industrial sounds that creates an overwhelming cacophony.

Tim Arsenault, 1991

One’s sensibility was taken by storm in its first contact moment with any one of Terry Graff’s multi-semantic wildfowl assemblages of found objects (twenty of them); and it continued to be piqued, warped, shattered, expanded, ridiculed, renovated, and entertained as it explored other kinetic data. Human sensibility was first deconstructed and then reconstructed in a kind of mental “happening”.

Allen Bentley, 1991

“Tantra Mantra” is a brightly coloured ensemble, consisting of nine pieces that encompass the huge lower gallery. . . . I felt I was transported to a steamy swamp with metal ducks and aluminum grasshoppers buzzing about. The installation seemed to take on a life of its own.

Mary MacKay, 1991

At first glance, Terry Graff’s “Cosmic Sea” suggests a schematic textbook diagram of the sort that might illustrate fish species out of Halifax Harbour. The fish shapes and proportions are all seemingly accurate. However, this impression is subverted when you realize they are really Frankensteinian fish, monstrous mechanical creations masquerading as living creatures. . . . Far more than just the sum of its parts, “Cosmic Sea” suggests broad social and environmental implications. . . . We cannot help but see ourselves reflected in this cold, junkyard assemblage, and we know not whether to laugh or cry.

Teri Robin Vernon, 1991

Graff has the wonderful ability to play with materials and assemble funky, creative art objects which delight. . . . Here, the sculptural form of “Cosmic Sea” is recognizable as sea and fish, but it is also recognizable as representative, in its construction, of human-made technology, completely dichotomized from Nature, and a powerful symbol of a negligent culture.

Linda Rae Dornan, 1991

Although highly critical of mankind’s destructive insistence on reducing nature to a utilitarian object, Graff uses industrial materials and mechanical devices to examine ecological issues. Is this irony or paradox? Does this constitute acceptance or rejection, surrender or victory? . . . Is this garish funhouse the end of nature, or is there the suggestion of regeneration and renewal after the deluge? Is it a dark parody of a technological world rapidly spinning out of control, or is it prophetic of a new natural order emerging from the ruins of a technological cataclysm?

Robert Reid, 1992

Terry Graff’s Ecotopia assaults the senses with an environmental message that can’t be ignored – that age-old conflict between Mother Nature and the mechanization of an industrial world.

Keren Adderley, 1992

Terry Graff is no novice to staging multimedia assemblages. He has been integrating machinery, assembly-line movements, flashing lights and sound effects in his work since the ‘70s. . . . His work presents a mirrored experience of the present – a picture that is bleak, dark and gloomy. . . . Do we care to recognize ourselves in its simulated illusions: the stilted houses and mechanical birds caught in robotic, aimless patterns each looped on their separate electric circuits, emphasizing the rootless disassociation between nature and humans?

Christina Sabat, 1993

Graff’s “Ecotopia” creates an all-encompassing media environment which simulates a natural ecological system. Its mechanization, controlled lighting, and audio soundtrack provide a sensation-rich environment which displaces the actual outdoors encounter. Machinery and media technology serve as an ironic and humorous surrogate for the real thing. While providing a view to nature’s patterns, “Ecotopia” creates a useful conflict between the wonder and delight of animated movement and the complex challenge of sorting out our relation to a nature defined by electronic mechanization.

Gordon Laurin, 1993

What sets Terry Graff’s work apart from other environmental or “eco-art” is humour. Many artists who deal with ecological themes take themselves far too seriously and bore the public to death with their pious preaching. Graff can make us think about serious issues and laugh simultaneously – it is one sign of a mature artist.

Virgil Hammock, 1993

ECOTOPIA: Season of Return, a large-scale, kinetic installation-performance-event, rich in layered imagery, messages and meanings, exemplifies the artist’s sense of play and pointed humour in a diverse and thoughtfully distilled, personal language aimed at provoking a public response. This work provides a valuable summation of the artist’s long and serious exploration of the relationship between nature and technology, art and ecology. We can learn much from his discoveries.

Mary Misner, 1993

Graff’s mechanical model of migratory flight embodies the quality of pathos that is the consequence of an impulse to dominate nature and to recreate it as a commodity. It comments critically on the experience of nature as a cultural activity packaged as environmental tourism. In this Graff points to the most profound and tragic of ECOTOPIA’s inherent ironies: that even as nature is itself being turned into a confection to be consumed as a cultural event, the ecosystem continues to be destroyed as a legacy of industrialization.

Tom Smart, 1993

All the fish sculptures started with a basic form, a two-foot-long, three-dimensional fiberglass salmon. . . . (but) Terry Graff took great liberty with his work “Salmonator”. It was completely redesigned. Cut up and reconstructed, it was then wired into a lighting installation, able to hold two light bulbs.

Angie Kippers, 2009

(In Terry Graff’s art) the duck, with its versatility, is a stand-in for humans. The decoy, with its trickery, is a stand-in for art. He's been working with the theme since the '70s. . . . Graff says, "(Concentrating on animals) gets one thinking about cultural institutions, because, really, they all are anthropocentric – they glorify human culture." As his more than 30 years of work in the area attests, exploring our relationship to the animal is not a new idea. We just started to finally pay attention to it.

Mike Landry, 2010