Fiona Connor (born 1981) is a

visual artist The visual arts are art forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, photography, video, filmmaking, design, crafts and architecture. Many artistic disciplines such as performing arts, conceptual art, and textile arts al ...

from

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, currently based in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

Education

Fiona Connor was born in 1981 in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

, New Zealand. In 2004 she graduated from the

Elam School of Fine Arts The Elam School of Fine Arts, founded by John Edward Elam, is part of the Faculty of Creative Arts and Industries at the University of Auckland. Students study degrees in fine art with an emphasis on a multidisciplinary approach. The schoo ...

with a BFA/BA. She has also studied at the

University of California, San Diego The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego or colloquially, UCSD) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Diego, California. Established in 1960 near the pre-existing Scripps Insti ...

and

University of Barcelona The University of Barcelona ( ca, Universitat de Barcelona, UB; ; es, link=no, Universidad de Barcelona) is a public university located in the city of Barcelona, Catalonia, in Spain. With 63,000 students, it is one of the biggest universities i ...

and has an MFA from the

California Institute of the Arts The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a private art university in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for students of both ...

. She is currently based in

Work

Connor often replicates everyday objects in her sculptural installations. Simulacra of public noticeboards, drinking fountains, outdoor furniture, doors and so on draw attention to these often overlooked forms of civic infrastructure. She also has an ongoing collaborative project with artist Michala Paludan, Newspaper Reading Club. Connor has exhibited throughout New Zealand and internationally. Notable exhibitions include: * ''Notes on the half the page'', Gambia Castle, Auckland (2008), solo * ''Something Transparent (please go round the back)'', Michael Lett, Auckland (2009), solo * ''NEW10'', Australian Centre for Contemporary Art (ACCA), Melbourne (2010), group * ''On Forgery: is one thing better than another?'', LAXART, Los Angeles (2011), group * ''Prospect: New Zealand Art Now'', City Gallery, Wellington (2011), group * ''De-Building'', Christchurch Art Gallery, Christchurch (2011), group * ''Reading the map while driving'', CalArts, Los Angeles (2011), solo * ''Untitled (Mural Design)'', Dunedin Public Art Gallery, Dunedin (2012), solo * ''Murals and Print'',

Various Small Fires Paris Wells is an Australian singer-songwriter based in Melbourne. She has released two albums and one EP. Wells has played at festivals such as Falls Festival, Big Day Out, Meredith and Sydney Music Festival. She has supported Justin Timberlak ...

, Los Angeles (2012), solo * ''Made in L.A., Hammer Museum'', Los Angeles (2012), group *''Bare Use'', 1301PE, Los Angeles (2013), solo * SCAPE Public Art Biennial, Christchurch (2013), group *''Wallworks'', Monash University Museum of Art, Melbourne (2014), solo *''Inside Outside Upside Down: Five Contemporary New Zealand Artists'', Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki (2015), group *''Stories of Almost Everyone'', Hammer Museum, Los Angeles (2018), group * Connor was a founding member of two art spaces in Auckland; Special, and Gambia Castle. She also established the project space Laurel Doody. Connor was a finalist in the 2010

Walters Prize The Walters Prize is New Zealand's largest contemporary art prize. Held biennially since 2002, the prize aims to 'make contemporary art a more widely recognised and debated feature of cultural life'. The prize is named in honour of New Zealand ab ...

with her work ''Something Transparent (please go round the back)'' (first shown in 2009 at Michael Lett, Auckland). In 2011, she received the

Arts Foundation of New Zealand 'The Arts Foundation of New Zealand Te Tumu Toi is a New Zealand arts organisation that supports artistic excellence and facilitates private philanthropy through raising funds for the arts and allocating it to New Zealand artists. The concept ...

Award for Patronage donation from Chartwell Trust. She also received a New Work Grant in 2008 from

Creative New Zealand The Arts Council of New Zealand Toi Aotearoa (Creative New Zealand) is the national arts development agency of the New Zealand government, investing in artists and arts organisations, offering capability building programmes and developing markets ...

. Work by Connor are held in several public collections including

Auckland Art Gallery Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki is the principal public gallery in Auckland, New Zealand. It has the most extensive collection of national and international art in New Zealand and frequently hosts travelling international exhibitions. Set be ...

. She is represented by the Hopkinson Mossman in Auckland, New Zealand.

References

External links

''Artist Profile: Fiona Connor''
Auckland Art Gallery 1982 births New Zealand painters New Zealand women painters Elam Art School alumni University of California, San Diego alumni University of Barcelona alumni California Institute of the Arts alumni Living people {{NewZealand-artist-stub