Michael Te Rakato Parekōwhai (born 1968) is a New Zealand sculptor and a professor at the

University of Auckland The University of Auckland (; Māori: ''Waipapa Taumata Rau'') is a public research university based in Auckland, New Zealand. The institution was established in 1883 as a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. Initially loc ...

Elam School of Fine Arts The Elam School of Fine Arts, founded by John Edward Elam, is part of the University of Auckland Faculty of Creative Arts and Industries, Faculty of Creative Arts and Industries at the University of Auckland. It offered the first Bachelor of ...

. He is of Ngāriki Rotoawe and Ngāti Whakarongo descent and his mother is . Parekōwhai was awarded an

Arts Foundation of New Zealand The Arts Foundation of New Zealand Te Tumu Toi is a New Zealand arts organisation that supports artistic excellence and facilitates private philanthropy through raising funds for the arts and allocating it to New Zealand artists. The foundatio ...

Laureate Award in 2001. He represented New Zealand at the 2011

Venice Biennale The Venice Biennale ( ; ) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy. There are two main components of the festival, known as the Art Biennale () and the Venice Biennale of Architecture, Architecture Biennale (), ...

Early life

Parekōwhai was born in

Porirua Porirua, () a list of cities in New Zealand, city in the Wellington Region of the North Island of New Zealand, is one of the four cities that constitute the Wellington#Wellington metropolitan area, Wellington metropolitan area. The name 'Poriru ...

. Both his parents were schoolteachers. He spent his childhood in Auckland's North Shore suburbs, where he also attended school. After leaving high school, Parekōwhai worked as a florist's assistant before commencing a bachelor's degree in fine arts at

(1987–1990). He trained as a high-school art teacher before returning to Elam to complete a Master's degree in fine arts (1998–2000).

Themes and style

Parekōwhai makes a variety of work across a range of media that intersects sculpture and photography. Sally Blundell, writing in the ''

New Zealand Listener The ''New Zealand Listener'' is a weekly New Zealand magazine that covers the political, cultural and literary life of New Zealand by featuring a variety of topics, including current events, politics, social issues, health, technology, arts, f ...

'', says: :Originality, authenticity, ownership. In Parekōwhai's work, such notions blur, slipping into a collective act of translation that interweaves the canon of "high art" with cultural tradition, the handmade object with mass-produced tourist tat, the imported with the proudly colloquial. Despite the range of Parekōwhai's output, his practice is linked throughout, both stylistically—a characteristic 'gloss' of high production value—and thematically. Curator

Justin Paton Justin Paton (born 1972) is a New Zealand writer, art critic and curator, currently based in Sydney, Australia. His book ''How to Look at a Painting'' (2005) was adapted into a 12-episode television series by TVNZ in 2011. Education Paton stu ...

writes that Parekowhai's works "have a way of sneaking up on you, even when they're straight ahead." He continues:

Pick-up sticks swollen to the size of spears. A photograph of a stuffed rabbit who has you in his sights. A silky bouquet that rustles with politics. Seemingly serene beneath their gleaming, factory-finished surfaces, Michael Parekowhai's sculptures and photographs are in fact supremely artful objects. 'Artful' not just because they're beautifully made...but also because they manage, with a combination of slyness, charm and audacity, to spring ambushes that leave you richer.

Notable works

''On First Looking into Chapman's Homer'' – an installation of two bronze bulls on grand pianos, two bronze olive saplings and the figure of a stoic security guard, his entry in 54th La Biennale di Venezia in 2011. Part of this installation, titled ''Chapman's Homer'' and consisting of a single bull atop a piano, was acquired by the

Christchurch Art Gallery The Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū, commonly known as the Christchurch Art Gallery, is the public art gallery of the city of Christchurch, New Zealand. It has its own substantial art collection and also presents a programme of New ...

. *''A Peak in Darien –'' a bronze bull atop a grand piano. The piece sold at an auction in New Zealand for $2,051,900 in November 2021, becoming the most expensive artwork by any artist sold in a New Zealand auction. * ''The World Turns'' – a life-sized bronze elephant tipped on its head and eye-to-eye with a kuril (water-rat), commissioned by the

Queensland Gallery of Modern Art The Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) is an art museum located within the Queensland Cultural Centre in the South Bank precinct of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The gallery is part of QAGOMA. Opened on 2 December 2006, the GOMA is Australia's l ...

. * ''He Kōrero Pūrākau mo Te Awanui o Te Motu: story of a New Zealand river'' — an original Steinway grand piano covered in glossy red carvings. The piano is played at each of the exhibitions that it features in, for example in the 2012 Te Papa exhibition with works from

Colin McCahon Colin John McCahon (; 1August 191927May 1987) was a New Zealand artist whose work over 45 years consisted of various styles, including landscape, figuration, abstraction, and the overlay of painted text. Along with Toss Woollaston and Rita Angus ...

and Jim Allen. * ''The English Channel'' – a sculpture of

Captain James Cook Captain James Cook (7 November 1728 – 14 February 1779) was a British Royal Navy officer, explorer, and cartographer famous for his three voyages of exploration to the Pacific and Southern Oceans, conducted between 1768 and 1779. He complet ...

in a contemplative pose, held by the

Art Gallery of New South Wales The Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW), founded as the New South Wales Academy of Art in 1872 and known as the National Art Gallery of New South Wales between 1883 and 1958, is located in The Domain, Sydney, Australia. It is the most import ...

. * ''The Lighthouse: Tū Whenua-a-Kura'' – Queens Wharf, Auckland * ''The Tongue of The Dog, outside

Waikato Museum Waikato Museum () is a regional museum located in Hamilton, New Zealand. The museum manages ArtsPost, a shop and gallery space for New Zealand art and design. Both are managed by the Hamilton City Council. Outside the museum is ''The Tongue of ...

Hamilton, New Zealand Hamilton (, ) is an inland city in the North Island of New Zealand. Located on the banks of the Waikato River, it is the seat and most populous city of the Waikato, Waikato region. With a territorial population of , it is the country's List of c ...

Exhibitions

GallerySolo

* 2017 ''Détour'', Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. * 2015 ''The Promised Land''

Queensland Art Gallery The Queensland Art Gallery (QAG) is an art museum located in South Bank, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The gallery is part of QAGOMA. It complements the Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) building, situated only away. The Queensland Art Galle ...

and Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA), Brisbane, Australia. * 2013 ''The Past in the Present'', Michael Lett at the Auckland Art Fair, Auckland * 2012 ''On First Looking into Chapman's Homer'',

Te Puna o Waiwhetu, Christchurch. * 2011 54th

New Zealand Pavilion. Also at Musée du Quai Branly, Paris, France * 2011 ''The Far Side'' Michael Lett, Auckland * 2011 ''Te Ao Hurihuri'' Jonathan Smart Gallery, Christchurch * 2009 ''The Moment of Cubism'' Michael Lett, Auckland, New Zealand * 2009 ''Seldom is Herd'', Roslyn Oxley Gallery, Sydney, Australia * 2009 ''Yes We Are'' One Day Sculpture, Wellington, New Zealand * 2008 ''Jim McMurtry'' Maori Hall / Michael Lett, Auckland, New Zealand * 2007 ''The Song of the Frog'', Michael Lett, Auckland, New Zealand * 2007 ''My Sister, My Self'' Michael Lett, Auckland, New Zealand * 1994 ''Kiss the Baby Goodbye'' Govett-Brewster, New Plymouth. * 1994 ''A Capella'', Greg Flint Gallery, Auckland

Group

* 1990 ''Choice!'' Artspace, Auckland * 1992 '' Headlands: Thinking Through New Zealand Art'',

Museum of Contemporary Art Museum of Contemporary Art (often abbreviated to MCA, MoCA or MOCA) may refer to: Africa * Museum of Contemporary Art (Tangier), Morocco, officially le Galerie d'Art Contemporain Mohamed Drissi Asia East Asia * Museum of Contemporary Art Shanghai ...

, Sydney * 1995–1996 ''Cultural Safety''

City Gallery Wellington City Gallery Wellington Te Whare Toi is a public art gallery in Wellington, New Zealand. History City Gallery Wellington Te Whare Toi began its life as the Wellington City Art Gallery on 23 September 1980 in a former office block located at 65 ...

and

Frankfurter Kunstverein The Frankfurter Kunstverein e. V. in Frankfurt am Main is a non-profit organisation dedicated to the promotion of contemporary art and culture. It is one of the oldest German art associations. History The Frankfurter Kunstverein was founded in ...

* 2004 'Paradise Now? Contemporary Art from the Pacific at Asia Society & Museum New York, NY * Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art, Brisbane, Australia (APT3 1999, APT5 2006 & APT7 2012) * 2014–2015 ''Black Rainbow'',

Te Papa The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa is New Zealand's national museum and is located in Wellington. Usually known as Te Papa (Māori language, Māori for 'Waka huia, the treasure box'), it opened in 1998 after the merging of the Nation ...

, Wellington

Selected works

* ''Atarangi'' 199
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' '' * ''Kiss the Baby Good Bye'' 199
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� * ''They Comfort Me Too'' 199
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� * ''Poorman, Beggarman, Thief'' (Beggaman) 1996�
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� * ''The Bosom of Abraham'' 199
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* ''Passchendaele'', from the series ''The consolation of philosophy'' 200
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� * ''Tua Whitu'' 200
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� * ''My Sister Myself'' 200
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� * ''Cosmo McMurtry'' 200
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� * ''He Kōrero Pūrākau mo te Awanui o Te Motu: Story of a New Zealand river'' 201
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� * ''Chapman’s Homer'' 201
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* ''The English Channel'' 201
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Collections

Parekowhai's work is held in most New Zealand public gallery collections and a number of international museums, including the Queensland Art Gallery , Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane, Australia and the

in Sydney.

Awards / honours

* Artist Laureate, Arts Foundation of New Zealand, 2001. * Premier of Queensland Sculpture Commission, Queensland, Australia, 2011. * Nga Toa Whakaihuwaka, Māori of the Year for Arts, 2011. *Barfoot & Thompson, 90th Anniversary Gift to Auckland City, Waterfront Commission, 2013. * 'Top 50 Public Art Project' awarded by Americans for the Arts, Public Art Network, 2013 Year in Review, for ''Blue Stratus'', Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, Arizona, USA, 2013. In collaboration with Mario Madayag. * Fellow of the Royal Society Te Apārangi, 2017.

Notes

References

External links

Staff profile
University of Auckland
Artist biography
Artfacts.net
Michael Parekowhai page on the Bowerbank Ninow artist database

Artist biography on Ocula website

Radio New Zealand National interview
12 March 2011
CV on Michael Lett website

Works in the Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki collection

Works in the Chartwell Collection

Works in the Christchurch Art Gallery collection

Works in the Dunedin Public Art Gallery collection

Works in the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa collection

Works in the Queensland Art Gallery collection
* Bernard Osman
Cost of State House sculpture rocketed to $1.9 million
''New Zealand Herald'', 23 October 2014 * John McDonald

''Sydney Morning Herald'', 5 June 2015 * Charlie Gates
The bull comes home
''The Press'', 11 January 2016. Interview with the artist. * PUBLIC ART NETWORK YEAR IN REVIEW DATABASE, https://www.americansforthearts.org/by-program/networks-and-councils/public-art-network/public-art-year-in-review-database/blue-stratus {{DEFAULTSORT:Parekowhai, Michael 1968 births New Zealand contemporary artists Elam Art School alumni Living people New Zealand Māori artists 20th-century New Zealand sculptors 20th-century New Zealand male artists 21st-century New Zealand sculptors 21st-century New Zealand male artists People associated with the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa Ngāriki Kaiputahi Academic staff of the University of Auckland