Richard Frater was born in 1984 in Wellington. He began his art career as a painter, graduating with a Postgraduate Diploma from Elam School of Fine Arts in 2006. Frater then started producing art using video and photography, for which he is known today. He received a Master’s Degree in Fine Arts from the Glasgow School of Art in 2012.

Frater has a strong interest in environments, structures and spaces. Strangers demonstrates his attention to objects in his immediate environment through a photographic portrait of the artist’s personal coffee making equipment. The humorous and anthropomorphic qualities of these everyday objects are made evident in this image, which Frater has likened to a portrait of a married couple.

Frater has exhibited regularly in Wellington since 2009, including exhibitions at Robert Heald Gallery, Square2 at City Gallery Wellington, Adam Art Gallery and Alterations. He has also exhibited widely in Auckland and Melbourne; and is a founding member of the Auckland artist-run space, A Centre for Art. Frater currently lives and works in Berlin and Auckland and is represented by Robert Heald Gallery in Wellington.