Gretchen Albrecht

Who is Gretchen Albrecht?

Gretchen Albrecht, CNZM, is a major New Zealand painter and sculptor.

Gretchen Albrecht was born in Onehunga, and attended the University of Auckland Elam School of Fine Arts, graduating in 1963. She received grants from the QE II Arts foundation in 1976, 1978 and 1986, and travelled and worked extensively in the United States during this time. In 1981 she was awarded the Frances Hodgkins Fellowship at the University of Otago.

The painter uses abstract colour forms, using the 'colour field' technique. She distinctively uses lunette and ovaloid canvases. She has been compared to Mark Rothko and particularly Helen Frankenthaler.

Gretchen Albrecht has been made a companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, and has had several major retrospectives, including at the Auckland Art Gallery and the City Gallery Wellington.

In 2005 Albrecht received a donation from the Arts Foundation of New Zealand Award for Patronage Recipient Jenny Gibbs.