New Zealand artist Gill Gatfield (LLB. MFA Hons.) creates conceptual-abstract sculptures and installations using rare stones, unique timbers, crystal-clear glass, fibre and native grass. Her artworks are imbued with ideas and narratives that intersect disciplines: philosophy, politics, history, science and psychology. Her minimalist forms tempt touch, provoke thought, and create reflective space within architectural and natural environments.

Following her first solo exhibition in 1999, Gill's work has been exhibited in NZ, Australia, USA and Europe in galleries, museums and outdoor sculpture events, has won national and international recognition, and commissions for place-making art. Major works include Native Tongue, a totemic I-figure carved from the heartwood of a 45,000 year old ancient kauri; Silhouette crafted from NZ glacial stone and Indian granite, marking the edge of a lava flow at a city transport station; The Kiss, a four tonne black monolith which embraces its audience, winner of a Landscape Art 2017 CODAaward; Half Glass, an 'impossible' form and metaphor for human aspiration on an Island headland; and Kaitiaki at Te Tuhi, a 17m white woven wall of disposable diapers, a geometric matrix raising issues of care and protection of taonga (treasure), people and land. In 2018, Gill created Zealandia, an abstract figure carved from a precious indigenous stone from the mountains of Te Waipounamu NZ, for the 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale exhibition ‘Time, Space, Existence’. Her work was presented at A18 American Institute of Architecture 'Blueprint for Better Cities' in New York and EXPO 2018 Chicago by the International Sculpture Centre. She recently completed Asterisk,  a major public artwork combining three rare Australian rocks, commissioned for a new park in the city of Sydney 2020.

Gill Gatfield's work is featured in art reviews, books, catalogues, radio and TV. A monograph on her theory and practice, Abstract Figure: Gill Gatfield, was released at the International Sculpture Centre Symposium in 2013. She was sole Juror of the 18th International Open 2015 Chicago, an open competition for women artists worldwide, and is a member of Global Women, a multi-sector organisation advancing equity, diversity and inclusion. As 2015 artist in residence at Kvindemuseet Danmark / Women’s Museum Denmark, she created Glasloft/Glass Ceiling flooding the floor of a heritage room with shattered glass, a level playing field with a 'step up' to commemorate the Danish suffrage centenary. Awarded a Creative New Zealand arts grant in 2019, the artist made the monumental Glass Ceiling (NZ Aotearoa), a deep undulating landscape and visual paradox of light and darkness in a city Silo, awarded Merit Honors in the 2019 Public Space international CODAawards. In 2019 Gill was awarded a Sculpture Fellowship and residency at Vermont Studio Centre USA, and was nominated a New Zealand Woman of Influence for her work in arts & culture and diversity leadership. Gill was recognised as one of 25 Creative Revolutionaries - ‘artists and arts collaborators, leading the way for positive change’ by international commissioned art platform CODAworx in 2020.

The artist's practice expands on her 10 year career in public policy and law reform - working in legal practice, as a senior advisor on human rights law, and as an EEO entrepreneur. She founded and led Equity Works Ltd. (1992-1998) investigating sector-wide systemic discrimination (gender, race, age and disability) and developing new equality and diversity strategies for government, professional and private sector organisations. She conducted 2 years of independent research on the status of women in the law and is author of the landmark text Without Prejudice: Women in the Law (Brooker’s, 1996, republished as a Heritage Collection Title in 2011). To mark 125 years of women practising law in 2016, Gill re-issued the book as a conceptual artwork - in hardback, cloaked in international suffrage colours, with a subtitle - Same Issue : New Cover. In 2018, Without Prejudice was published as a digital book by Thomson Reuters in response to the global movement #metoo. Gill supports local arts initiatives in her community north of Auckland and is patron of Estuary Arts Centre.

career | education

Founder Gatfield Studio 1998–
Masters of Fine Arts (Hons.) University of Auckland 2002/2003
Bachelor of Laws University of Auckland 1987

PUblic PRojects | Solo Exhibitions

Asterisk 2020, NSW Westconnex Canal to Creek Sculpture Park, Sydney
Residency 2019 Vermont Studio Centre USA
Glass Ceiling (NZ Aotearoa) 2019 Silo Park, Auckland NZ
Zealandia / Project X 2018-2019 Venice Italy
Without Prejudice: Same Issue-New Cover 1896–2016 / 2018
Suffragettes 2016, Corner Window Gallery, Auckland NZ
Glasloft/Glass Ceiling 2015, Kvindemuseet Danmark/Women’s Museum Denmark
The Kiss 2015, Sculpture by the Sea Aarhus Denmark
Creative Disruption 2014, Global Women NZ
Square Root 2013, Langford120, Melbourne Australia
Vanity Fair 2013, Parallax Art Fair, The Prince George, New York
Ally Sloper 2013, 16th International Open, WomanMade Gallery, Chicago
The Snake Charmer 2013, NZ Sculpture Onshore, Auckland
Native Tongue 2012, Spark NZ Head Office, Auckland
Silhouette 2011, Smales Farm Station, Auckland
Third Person 2010, Centre of Contemporary Art, Christchurch
Suspended Sentence 2009, The Physics Room Kiosk, Christchurch
En Plein Air 2009, Centre of Contemporary Art, Christchurch
Current Work 2008, City Art Rooms, Auckland
Performance Painting 2008, Blue Oyster Gallery, Dunedin
First Person/Present Tense 2008, Installation, City Art Rooms, Auckland
Being-Made 2007, City Art Rooms, Auckland
Nappy Painting 2006, Massey University, Albany
Kaitiaki 2004, Cameo Project, Te Tuhi / Manukau Public Art Gallery
Eve n Eden 2003, Window Project, Eden Arts Festival
In-Out 2003, University of Auckland
Kaitiaki 2003, Mount Street Studios, University of Auckland
Moving Mountains 2002, Whakatane Museum & Gallery
Moving Mountains 2002, Rotorua Museum of Art & History
In the Balance 2002, Auckland University
1000 Words 1999, ASA Gallery, Auckland

group Exhibitions

2021

Native Tongue XR, Sculpture by the Sea Cottesloe, Perth Australia
The Snake Charmer, Aotearoa NZ Art Fair, Auckland NZ

2020

Hello Again, Scott Lawrie Gallery Auckland
The Wall (US), Alumx Exhibition, Vermont Studio Centre USA
Touch (Virtual Exhibition), WomanMade Gallery Chicago
Season 2020, SCAPE Public Art, Studio 125 Christchurch
Summer Show, The Vivian / Scott Lawrie Gallery, Matakana NZ

2019

Open Studios, Vermont Studio Centre USA
Winter Show 2019, SCAPE Public Art, Studio 125 Christchurch NZ
Love Lives Here, COCA Centre of Contemporary Art, Christchurch
LIP(S), Silo Park Wynyard Quarter Auckland NZ

2018

International Sculpture Centre, 2018 Expo Chicago
Small Sculpture Exhibition, SCAPE Public Art 2018, Arts Centre Christchurch NZ
Venice Architecture Biennale 2018, Time Space Existence, Curated by Global Art Foundation & European Cultural Centre, Giardini Marinaressa, Venice
International Sculpture Centre, 30 Sculptors 2018, Artsy
A'18, American Institute of Architecture CODAworx, Javits Centre, New York
Edge, Curator: Dr Irene Barberis, Langford120 Melbourne

2017

Small Sculpture, Studio 125 Gallery SCAPE Public Art Season 2017, Christchurch
Headland Sculpture on the Gulf 2017, Pavillion Gallery Waiheke Island NZ
Opening Show, Studio 125 Gallery SCAPE Public Art, Christchurch NZ

2016

The Kiss SCAPE Public Art 2016 ‘Presence’ Curator: Heather Galbraith, Christchurch NZ
Aroha SCAPE Public Art 2016 Christ's College Christchurch
Trinity National Small Sculpture Prize 2016, Waiheke Art Gallery 

2015

Sculpture by the Sea 2015 Aarhus Denmark
Fifteen-Trajectories, Langford120 Melbourne Australia
Headland Sculpture on the Gulf 2015, Pavillion Gallery Waiheke Island NZ

2014

New Zealand Sculpture Onshore (10th Biennial) Auckland NZ
Chicago Sculpture International 2014, Lewis University Chicago USA
National Small Sculpture Prize 2014, Waiheke Art Gallery
Fourteen-Trajectories, Langford120, Melbourne Australia
Shapeshifter 2014, NZ International Arts Festival, Dowse Art Museum

2013

Squaring Up, Langford120 Melbourne
Safe, In[box], ArtBox Gallery Christchurch
x, Sculpture by the Sea Bondi 2013, Sydney 
Multiple Choice, Sculpture Inside, SxS Bondi 2013 Sydney
Vanity Fair, Parallax Art Fair New York, The Prince George New York
Ally Sloper, 16th International Open, Woman Made Gallery Chicago
Chip, Off the Wall - Sculpture Invitational, Waiheke Art Gallery

2012

The Snake Charmer, New Zealand Sculpture OnShore
Lean II, ArtHouse, NZ Academy of Fine Arts
Nappy Painting, Women: An Exhibition, NZ Academy of Fine Arts
I+I, National Small Sculpture Prize 2012, Waiheke Art Gallery NZ
Platform, Summer: Sky Above Earth Below, Curator: Andrew Clifford, Waikato Sculpture Trust 

2011

Native Tongue, Sculpture in the Gardens, Auckland Botanic Gardens
Not I & II, Sculpture on the Peninsula, Banks Peninsula
Black Fringe, Wallace Finalists Exhibition, Dowse Art Museum
Wallace Art Awards Exhibition, Pah Homestead Auckland
Not I, National Small Sculpture Prize 2011, Waiheke Art Gallery NZ
White I. (Whakaari), Morpeth Canaday Art Award, Whakatane

2010

Portia & Je Suis, NZ Sculpture Onshore
All Black, Spring Catalogue 2010, Nadene Milne Gallery
Natural Selection, Walker & Hall 2D Art Award, Waiheke Art Gallery
13% Painting, Anthony Harper COCA Art Award Exhibition, Centre of Contemporary Art
Portia & Babel, Shapeshifter 2010, NZ International Arts Festival, Dowse Art Museum
Blood Work, Bouncy, Sanderson Contemporary Art, Auckland
Cliffhanger, Sculpture in the Park | E: Scape, Curator: Rob Garrett, Waikato Sculpture Trust
Babel, Exhibition 2010, Kaipara Coast Sculpture Gardens

2009

Half Glass, Headland Sculpture on the Gulf, Waiheke Island
Bush, Sealink Small Sculpture Prize Exhibition, Waiheke Art Gallery
Silver Lining, NZ Painting & Printmaking Award, Hamilton Gardens
All Black, Black Candy, City Art Rooms, Auckland
High Country / Black Cloud, COCA Art Award, Centre Of Contemporary Art
Black Cloud & Bush, Mesh, Antoinette Godkin Gallery, Auckland
Present, National Drawing Award, Artspace, Auckland; Physics Room, Christchurch; Enjoy Public Art Gallery, Wellington

2008

Mirror Image, NZ Sculpture Onshore, North Shore City/Auckland
Prickle, City Art Rooms at Bridge Art Fair, Berlin, Germany
Prick, Unlimited, City Art Rooms, Auckland
Six Days, COCA Art Award, Centre of Contemporary Art, Christchurch
Cloud, Reflecting Skin, City Art Rooms, Auckland
First Person/Present Tense, Installation, City Art Rooms, Auckland

2007

Canvas, Off the Wall, Auckland Art Gallery
Live Recording, Sculpture in the Park (Curator: Carole Shepheard), Waikato Sculpture Trust
Prick, Wallace Art Awards, Auckland Town Hall
Muses, Fine (Curator: Tamara Darragh), Sanderson Contemporary Art, Auckland

2006

Grass Roots, NZ Sculpture Onshore, North Shore City/Auckland
Lawn, Trust Waikato National Contemporary Art Award, Waikato Museum
Nappy Painting, Bath Street Gallery, Auckland
Practice, National Drawing Award, ArtSpace Auckland; Physics Room, Christchurch

2005

Undercoat, Skirt Collective, Installation & Performance, Auckland
End of Line, Activate – Contemporary NZ Artists, Centre of Contemporary Art
Untitled, National Waikato Contemporary Art Award, Hamilton
Handmade, National Drawing Award, ArtSpace, Auckland; Physics Room, Christchurch

2004

Tui-pie, Altered States (Curator: Carole Shepheard) Museum of Cultural Anxiety, Auckland
In/Out, National Waikato Contemporary Art Award Exhibition

2003

Foray, A4 Exchange (Curator: Karin Sander) Weisensee Art School, Berlin, Germany
and George Fraser Gallery, University of Auckland
Fake, Congreve Odyssey House Auction, Auckland
Fake, Winter at the ASA, ASA Gallery, Auckland
Sacred Ground, Goldwater Art Award Exhibition, Waiheke Island
Eve n Eden, Window Project, Eden Arts Festival, Auckland
Remuera, Window Project, Guardian Trust, University of Auckland

2002

Marque 4, ASA Gallery, Auckland

Awards | Grants | residencies

Creative New Zealand 2020 Arts Grant
Creative Revolutionary CODAworx 2020
NSW Government Westconnex Sculpture Park Sydney 2019, Commissioned Artist
NZ Women of Influence Awards 2019 Finalist (Arts & Culture, Diversity)
CODAawards 2019 Public Space Award 'Glass Ceiling (NZ Aotearoa)' Merit Honors
CODAawards 2019 Top 100 'Glass Ceiling (NZ Aotearoa)' Jury Selection
Creative New Zealand 2019 Arts Grant
Vermont Studio Centre 2019 Sculpture Fellowship
Venice Architecture Biennale 2018, Global Art Affairs Foundation Invited Artist
A'18 American Institute of Architecture New York 2018 Invited Artist
CODAawards 2017 Public Art Landscape Award ‘The Kiss’ Winner
CODAawards 2017 Top 100 'The Kiss' Jury Selection
SCAPE Public Art 2016|2017 Season, Christchurch NZ, Invited Artist
NZ Small Sculpture Prize 2016 Finalist
Women’s Museum Denmark 2015 Artist in Residence
Sculpture by the Sea 2015, Aarhus Denmark Jury Selection
18th International Open Art Award 2015, WomanMade Gallery Chicago, Juror
Chicago Sculpture International 2014, Lewis University, Jury Selection
Shapeshifter 2014, NZ International Arts Festival Wellington, Selected Artist
NZ Small Sculpture Prize 2014 Finalist
Sculpture by the Sea Bondi 2013 Sydney Australia, Selected Artist
16th International Open 2013, WomanMade Gallery Chicago, Finalist
Parallax Art Fair 2013 New York, Invited Artist
NZ Small Sculpture Prize 2012 Finalist
Public Art Sculpture Award 2010 Winner | Smales Farm 2011 Commissioned Artist
Wallace Art Awards 2011 Finalist | Travelling Exhibition 2011 Selected Finalists
NZ Small Sculpture Prize 2011 Finalist
Morpeth Canaday Art Award 2011 Finalist
Walker & Hall National 2D Art Award 2010 Finalist
COCA Centre of Contemporary Art Award NZ 2010 Finalist
NZ Painting & Printmaking Award 2009 Finalist
NZ Small Sculpture Prize 2009 Finalist
COCA Centre of Contemporary Art Award NZ 2008 and 2009 Finalist
Dunedin Performance Art Festival 2008, Blue Oyster Gallery Open Call Selected Artist
Wallace Art Awards 2007 Finalist Salon de Refuse
National Contemporary Art Award (3D) 2006 Finalist
International Women's Art Festival 2006 Vienna Austria, Skirt Collective Jury Selection
Waikato National Art Award (2D) 2005 Merit Prize
Waikato National Art Award (2D) 2004 Finalist
Te Tuhi Public Gallery Auckland 2004 Cameo Project
Goldwater Art Award 2003 Finalist
Morpeth Canaday Art Award 2002 Finalist
Auckland City Creative Communities 2001 Exhibition Grant
North Shore Pumphouse Art Awards 2001 Finalist

Artist Talks

'The Snake Charmer', SCAPE Public Art 2021 Aotearoa NZ Art Fair
'Zealandia - At Home', Government House 2020 Auckland
'Glass Ceiling', Art in Residence 2020 SCAPE Public Art Christchurch NZ
'Glass Ceiling (NZ Aotearoa)', 2019 Silo 6 Auckland
'Suffragette - A Model' 2019 Global Women Auckland NZ
Native Tongue: Real and Imagined - Art in Augmented Reality' 2018 Spark Foundation
'Baroque Abstraction: A Romance between Conceptual Abstraction & Italian Baroque' European Cultural Centre, 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale, Italy
‘Creative Process Artist’s Panel’ Facilitator 2017 Estuary Art Centre NZ
‘The Kiss in Context’ SCAPE Public Art 2016, Christchurch Art Gallery NZ
‘Suffragettes’ 2016 Corner Window Gallery Auckland NZ
‘Creative Process – Logic + Intuition’ 2015 Creative Mornings Aarhus Denmark
‘The Kiss’, Sculpture by the Sea 2015 Education Programme, Aarhus Denmark
‘Disruption: The Business of Art’, Global Women Breakthrough Leaders Forum 2014, Auckland
‘Disruptive Innovation & Creativity’, Global Women Conference 2014, Queenstown
‘Square Root’, at Squaring Up 2013, Langford120, Melbourne Australia
‘On x’, Education Program, Sculpture by the Sea, Bondi 2013, Sydney Australia
‘Abstract Figure: Gill Gatfield’, International Sculpture Centre Symposium 2013: International Dialogue, Auckland 2013
‘Art for A Public Wall’, Artist's Panel, NZ Sculpture OnShore 2011, Auckland NZ
‘Native Tongue’, Sculpture in the Gardens, Auckland Botanic Gardens 2011
‘Performance Painting’, Blue Oyster Performance Art Series, Dunedin 2008
‘BeingMade’, University of Auckland Cont. Education Group, Auckland 2007
‘Grass Roots’, Te Tuhi Art Theory Group, NZ Sculpture Onshore 2006
‘Kaitiaki’, Public Lecture Series, Te Tuhi / Manukau Public Art Gallery 2004
‘Fake’, Elam Masters Students, ASA Gallery, Auckland 2003
‘Moving Mountains’, Public Lecture Series, Rotorua Museum of Art & History 2002

Memberships | Associations

International Sculpture Centre, Professional Member 
Global Women, Arts Sector Lead
SheEO Women Entrepreneurs, Activator
National Council of Women, Member
Estuary Arts Centre Auckland, Patron

human rights | advocacy

Advisory Panel, Platforms for Good 2020
Researcher/Advisor, NZLS Review of Sexual Harassment & Bullying 2019
Chair, 'Women in Law Summit' Key Media Auckland 2018
Author, Without Prejudice: Women in the Law (Brooker’s 1996, 550pp.; Brooker’s Heritage Title 2011; Same Issue: New Cover Gatfield 2016; Same Issue: New Cover Thompson Reuters 2018)
Founder & Director, Equity Works Ltd. 1993–98
Research Scholar Grant, New Zealand Law Foundation 1994 and 1995
Law Reform Division Senior Advisor, New Zealand Law Society 1992–93
Policy & Law Reform Senior Advisor, Ministry of Women 1990–91
Solicitor, Brookfields Auckland 1987–89 (Litigation, Commercial, Tax)
Barrister & Solicitor, High Court of New Zealand 1987–98 (NZ Roll of Barristers & Solicitors 1997)
Bachelor of Laws University of Auckland 1987

studio

Gatfield Studio Auckland NZ
studio@gatfield.co.nz
www.gillgatfield.com