Biography

Paul Radford, 1957–2024

Early work and Elam, 1957–1977

Paul Edison Radford was born in Brisbane on 9 November 1957 and grew up in New Zealand. He studied at the Elam School of Fine Arts, University of Auckland, from 1975 to 1977. He began exhibiting while still a student, entering the Tokoroa Art Award Exhibition in 1975 and holding solo shows at the Starr Gallery in Hamilton and Gallery Data in Auckland in 1976.

Barry Lett Galleries and RKS Art, 1978–1992

In 1978, at twenty-one, Radford held his first show at Barry Lett Galleries in Auckland — one of the most important post-war dealer galleries in New Zealand. The gallery had been co-founded in 1965 by Barry Lett, Rodney Kirk Smith, and Frank Lowe, and its roster included Colin McCahon, Don Binney, Pat Hanly, Ralph Hotere, Milan Mrkusich, Gordon Walters, and Michael Smither.

When Barry Lett left in 1975 to paint full-time, Rodney Kirk Smith continued the gallery alone, rebranding it as RKS Art in 1976. Radford showed there continuously under both names — a fourteen-year dealer relationship, the longest in his career — until the gallery closed in July 1992.

During this period, institutional acquisitions began: Christchurch Art Gallery purchased Marching Girls in 1982, Te Papa Tongarewa acquired at least eight works on paper between 1985 and 1987, and the Suter Art Gallery purchased (Take a Walk in the) Land of Shadows from the Goodman-Suter Biennale in 1986. The James Wallace Arts Trust began collecting his work in 1984, continuing through to 2011.

Radford also showed regularly beyond Auckland during these years — at the Brooke/Gifford Gallery in Christchurch (1982, 1986), the Janne Land Gallery and Louise Beale Gallery in Wellington (1983, 1987, 1989), and the Goodman Suter Biennale in Nelson (1986, 1987). In 1983, he won second prize at the Commonwealth Art Exhibition in London. In 1986, he received a Queen Elizabeth II Arts Council grant for travel to the United States and Europe.

Film and television, 1985–2013

From 1985, Radford worked as a scenic artist in the New Zealand film industry, running a parallel career alongside his painting for nearly thirty years. His first credit was Mesmerized (1985); by 1990 he had worked on six productions, including Jane Campion's An Angel at My Table.

In 1994, he was appointed head scenic artist on the Hercules television movies, and subsequently worked on Xena: Warrior Princess (21 episodes, 1995–2000). Later credits include Peter Jackson's King Kong (2005), Roger Donaldson's The World's Fastest Indian (2005), and 30 Days of Night (2007).

His final and longest production was Spartacus (2010–2013), on which he served as head scenic artist across 32 episodes. He did not stop painting during this period: the James Wallace Arts Trust acquired his work in 1993, 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2011, and he continued to exhibit at galleries in Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch throughout the film years.

Later galleries and sculpture, 1993–2024

After RKS Art closed in 1992, Radford showed at the Janne Land Gallery in Wellington (1993), C.O.C.A. in Christchurch (1995, 2003), and the McPherson Gallery in Auckland (1998–2002), before beginning a long association with the Remuera Gallery in Auckland from 2004.

In 2010 and 2011, he visited the Greek island of Paros, where the Cycladic marble figurines in the local museum prompted a new body of sculptural work. Prodigal Child (2010), in Hardcote over polystyrene, was acquired by the Arts House Trust and stands in the sculpture garden at Pah Homestead, Auckland. Flotsam, a clinker dinghy hull carved as a Cycladic head, is installed on Waiheke Island.

His later exhibitions included GRAFFITI (Remuera Gallery, 2012), The Venus Guitar Club (Space Art Gallery, Auckland, 2013), and Body and Soul (Waiheke Community Art Gallery, 2013). His last formal exhibition was Sculpture Walk at Headland Sculpture on the Gulf, Waiheke Island, in 2015.

He continued painting and selling work through Space Art Gallery for the rest of his life, moving through several late series — densely populated "crowded canvases" such as Terra Firma, Family Album, and Remember to Remember, followed by a smaller series of hearts. He was a member and board director of space art gallery in Oneroa, Waiheke, until his death on 20 October 2024.

This biography has been compiled from Paul Radford's self-published monograph (2007), institutional records, gallery archives, IMDb, and family papers. Additions and corrections are welcomed.