Lyonel Grant

New Zealand master carver and sculptor (1957- )

Lyonel Grant
Born	1957 (age 66–67) Rotorua, New Zealand
Education	New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute, Rotorua
Known for	Carving, sculpture
Awards	Arts Foundation of New Zealand, Laureate Award 2009.

Lyonel Grant (born 1957) is a New Zealand Māori master carver and sculptor. Born in Rotorua, he affiliates to Ngāti Pikiao and Te Arawa.^[1] Grant identifies as Maori Indian.^[2]

Carving

During the 1970s, Grant learnt under master carver Hōne Taiapa at the New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute in Rotorua.^[3] In 2009 Grant received an honorary Doctorate of Philosophy (Education) from Unitec Institute of Technology. The same year he also received an Arts Foundation of New Zealand Laureate Award.^[1]

Between 1985 and 1987 Grant completed his first whare whakairo (carved house, meeting house), Te Matapihi o te Rangi at Te Papa o te Aroha Marae in Tokoroa.^[4] His second whare whakairo was Ihenga at Tangatarua Marae, on the Waiariki Institute of Technology campus in Rotorua. Ihenga was completed between 1993 and 1996. In 2007 Grant co-authored Ihenga: Te Haerenga Hou, The Evolution of Māori Carving in the 20th Century with Damian Skinner.^[3] In 2009 Grant completed Ngākau Māhaki at Te Noho Kotahitanga Marae on the Unitec Institute of Technology Mt Albert campus.^[5]

Exhibitions and collections

Grant has exhibited both internationally and nationally. His work is held in the collections of The British Museum and The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.^[6]^[7]^[8]

Gallery

Pou Tokomanawa (1999) at the Lumley Centre in Auckland
Tāmaki Herenga Waka (2020) at the Park Hyatt Auckland

References

^ ^a ^b "Biography: Lyonel Grant". New Zealand Arts Foundation. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
^ "First Maori-Indian Hui a roaring success | Scoop News". www.scoop.co.nz. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
^ ^a ^b Grant, Lyonel; Skinner, Damian (2007). Ihenga: Te Haeranga Hou. The Evolution of Māori Carving in the 20th Century. Auckland: Reed Publishin. ISBN 978 0 7900 1059 5.
^ "Māori Dictionary". Te Aka Māori Dictionary. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
^ "Te Noho Kotahitanga Marae". Unitec Institute of Technology. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
^ "Biography: Lyonel Grant". Spirit Wrestler Gallery. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
^ "A wooden figure, Lyonel Grant". The British Museum. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
^ "Tauihu (canoe prow)". Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. Retrieved 10 December 2014.