Mathias Kauage O.B.E. (1944 in Miugu,

Chimbu Province Chimbu, more frequently spelled Simbu, is a province in the Highlands Region of Papua New Guinea. The province has an area of 6,112 km2 and a population of 376,473 (2011 census). The capital of the province is Kundiawa. Mount Wilhelm, the t ...

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...

– May 2003)Niugini Arts
was a Papua New Guinean artist. In 1998, Kauage was awarded the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

for services to the arts by

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

. The

National Gallery of Australia The National Gallery of Australia (NGA), formerly the Australian National Gallery, is the national art museum of Australia as well as one of the largest art museums in Australia, holding more than 166,000 works of art. Located in Canberra in th ...

has described him as "Papua New Guinea's best-known contemporary artist"."Imagining Papua New Guinea"

He was still holding regular exhibitions abroad shortly before his death,"Imagining Papua New Guinea"
National Gallery of Australia in Australia, Europe and Africa. Kauage's art included drawing, painting and

woodcut Woodcut is a relief printing technique in printmaking. An artist carves an image into the surface of a block of wood—typically with gouges—leaving the printing parts level with the surface while removing the non-printing parts. Areas that ...

s. His career as an artist was reportedly inspired by visiting an exhibition of

Timothy Akis Timothy Akis, born around 1944
on the Alcheringa Gallery website in Tsembaga village, Simbai Valley ...

' in 1969. He was unrelated to fellow artist Chris Kauage, although the two were friends.

References

Papua New Guinean painters Members of the Order of the British Empire 1944 births 2003 deaths People from Chimbu Province 20th-century Papua New Guinean painters {{PapuaNewGuinea-bio-stub