John Reuelu Penisula (1941 - 2023) born Ioane Reuelu Penisula, was a contemporary Samoan stone sculptor and painter living in New Zealand. Penisula was born in

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...

and began painting when he was 13 years old. He moved to New Zealand in 1962 and set up home in

Invercargill Invercargill ( , ) is the southernmost and westernmost list of cities in New Zealand, city in New Zealand, and one of the Southernmost settlements, southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland Region, Southlan ...

. He studied art at night classes and began exhibiting as a painter in 1972. As a sculptor, he experimented with a diverse range of sculptural materials including steel, aluminium, fibreglass, bone, argillite, greenstone and limestone before turning to his preferred medium of stone. His sculptures incorporate both traditional Polynesian and contemporary patterns, symbols that are significant in

Pacific Islands The Pacific islands are a group of islands in the Pacific Ocean. They are further categorized into three major island groups: Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Depending on the context, the term ''Pacific Islands'' may refer to one of several ...

history and culture.

Exhibitions

His work is held in public and private collections, both in New Zealand and internationally, including a civic work in Invercargill's Wachner Place, commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Treaty of Waitangi. Penisula's work was part of ''Le Folauga: the past coming forward – Contemporary Pacific Art from Aotearoa New Zealand'', the first exhibition of contemporary Pacific art from New Zealand to be shown in a major fine arts museum in Asia. ''Le Folauga'' opened at the Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts in Taiwan from 13 December 2008 to 5 April 2009. Penisula was also part of the official New Zealand delegation of artists participating in the 10th Festival of Pacific Arts, held in

Pago Pago Pago Pago ( or ; Samoan language, Samoan: )Harris, Ann G. and Esther Tuttle (2004). ''Geology of National Parks''. Kendall Hunt. Page 604. . is the capital of American Samoa. It is in Maoputasi County, American Samoa, Maoputasi County on Tutuila ...

American Samoa American Samoa is an Territories of the United States, unincorporated and unorganized territory of the United States located in the Polynesia region of the Pacific Ocean, South Pacific Ocean. Centered on , it is southeast of the island count ...

in 2008. Penisula said his creative inspiration comes from his Samoan heritage.

Awards and art residences

In 2002, Penisula received the Creative New Zealand Senior Pacific Arts award at the Arts Pasifika Awards in recognition of artistic excellence and contribution to the arts. In 2005, he was awarded the

Cook Islands The Cook Islands is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of 15 islands whose total land area is approximately . The Cook Islands' Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) covers of ocean. Avarua is its ...

Artist in Residence by Creative New Zealand. In 2007, he was the recipient of the Macmillan Brown Pacific Artist in Residence at the

University of Canterbury The University of Canterbury (UC; ; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was founded in 1873 as Canterbur ...

. In the 2009 New Year Honours, Penisula was appointed a

Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit () is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have ...

, for services to art, in particular sculpture.

Death

Peninsula died in May 2023, in Invercargill, New Zealand.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Penisula, Johnny Living people Members of the New Zealand Order of Merit Samoan artists Samoan emigrants to New Zealand 21st-century New Zealand painters 21st-century New Zealand sculptors 21st-century New Zealand male artists 1955 births