Five Māori Painters

Experience the power of painting and uncover connections between the work of contemporary Māori artists and their forebears in this compelling exhibition. View Aotearoa New Zealand through the work five artists and gain a new understanding of the relationships that make our country unique.

Discover the way Māori painting has developed through the work of senior practitioners, Robyn Kahukiwa, Kura Te Waru Rewiri and Emily Karaka, and next-generation painters, Star Gossage and Saffronn Te Ratana.

Explore the interweaving of iconic Māori symbols with contemporary socio-political commentary in the mural-like narrative paintings of Kahukiwa. Contrast her approach with bold kōwhaiwhai paintings by Te Waru Rewiri, and compare Karaka's energetic and fluid brushwork focused on Treaty of Waitangi claims with Gossage's ethereal figures and Te Ratana's three-dimensional paintings.

Significant examples of painted hoe (canoe paddles), heke (rafters) and work by 19th-century artist George French Angas help contextualise the contemporary artwork by establishing an older painting tradition.