Greer Twiss

Greer Lascelles Twiss (23 June 1937 – 17 July 2025) was a New Zealand sculptor, and in 2011 was the recipient of an Icon Award from the Arts Foundation of New Zealand, limited to 20 living art-makers.

Life and career Twiss was born in Auckland on 23 June 1937, taking up sculpture in the 1950s. He graduated from Elam School of Fine Arts in 1960 with a Diploma of Fine Arts with honours. In 1965, he received a QEII Arts Council Travel Grant, which he used to study lost-wax casting in Europe. He is best known for his works in bronze. In 1966, he was appointed a lecturer at Elam, and he eventually became the head of sculpture there in 1974. He retired in 1998.

Twiss primarily focused on life-sized sculptures in the 1960s, including the fibreglass series Frozen Frames, and the 1969 bronze sculpture and fountain Karangahape Rocks.

Works

His works are in the Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki. He participated in many exhibitions including Volume and Form, Singapore; Content/Context at Shed 11 - Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa; and Aspects of Recent New Zealand Art, Auckland City Art Gallery. and his large-scale bronze Karangahape Road Fountain has been a fixture of Pigeon Park at the intersection of Karangahape Road and Symonds Street since 1969. A steel and bronze cast work Link is mounted in the Auckland University medical school building.

Honours and recognition Twiss was a guest contributor to the sculpture park at the Seoul Olympics. In 2011, he received an Arts Foundation Icon Award.