Star Fleur Gossage (born 1973) is a New Zealand painter. In addition to painting, her practice includes theatre, film-making, poetry, and sculpture. While referencing European movements such as

expressionism Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...

impressionism Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...

and

surrealism Surrealism is an art movement, art and cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists aimed to allow the unconscious mind to express itself, often resulting in the depiction of illogical or dreamlike s ...

, her work incorporates

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

concepts such as

whānau Whānau () is the Māori word for the basic extended family group. Within Māori society the ''whānau'' encompasses three or four generations and forms the political unit below the levels of hapū (subtribe), iwi (tribe or nation) and waka (mi ...

and

whakapapa Genealogy is a fundamental principle in Māori culture, termed specifically in this context as ''whakapapa'' (, , lit. 'layering'). Reciting one's '' whakapapa'' proclaims one's identity among the Māori, places oneself in a wider context, and ...

Life

Gossage is of

Ngāti Manuhiri Ngāti Manuhiri is a Māori iwi of the Mahurangi Peninsula area of New Zealand. They have an interest in the region from the Ōkura River in the south to Mangawhai in the north, and extending out to Great Barrier Island. They are descended from ...

Ngātiwai Ngātiwai or Ngāti Wai is a Māori people, Māori iwi of the east coast of the Northland Region of New Zealand. Its historical tribal area or rohe stretched from Cape Brett in the north to Takatū Point on Tawharanui Peninsula in the south and ...

Ngāti Ruanui Ngāti Ruanui is a Māori people, Māori iwi traditionally based in the Taranaki Region, Taranaki region of New Zealand. In the 2006 census, 7,035 people claimed affiliation to the iwi. However, most members now live outside the rohe, traditional ...

, French, English and Portuguese descent; the great-great-granddaughter of Rāhui Te Kiri, and daughter of the artists Tilly and

Peter Gossage Peter Gossage (22 October 1946 – 30 July 2016) was a New Zealand author and illustrator. Known for his children's picture books based on Māori mythology, Gossage published over 20 books with deceptively simple storytelling popular inside and ...

. Her

heritage is core to her work and following her graduation in 1995 she returned to her ancestral home in

Pākiri Pākiri is a locality in Auckland, in the former Rodney District of New Zealand. Leigh is about to the south-east. The Pākiri River flows through the area and into the Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana to the north-east. The area is named for the ...

, north of Auckland, to establish her current home and studio. Her ancestral land is an inspiration for her artwork.

Education

In 1995, Gossage received a Diploma of Fine Arts from Otago Polytechnic School of Art. During her studies, she experimented with a wide variety of media including film and theatre production (including play-writing) and was inspired by, and worked with, other innovative young Māori art students.

Exhibitions and collections

Gossage received critical acclaim for her 2014 exhibition ''Five Maori Painters'' at

Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki is the principal public gallery in Auckland, New Zealand. It has the most extensive collection of national and international art in New Zealand and frequently hosts travelling international exhibitions. Set be ...

, exhibiting alongside

Robyn Kahukiwa Robyn Fletcher Kahukiwa (14 September 1938 – 11 April 2025) was a New Zealand artist, children's book author and illustrator. She created a significant collection of paintings, books, prints, drawings, and sculptures. Background Kahukiwa was ...

Kura Te Waru Rewiri Kura Te Waru Rewiri (born 1958) is a New Zealand artist, academic and educator. Art historian Deidre Brown described her as "one of Aotearoa, New Zealand's most celebrated Māori women artists." Early life and education Te Waru Rewiri is the ...

Emily Karaka Emily Karaka (born Auckland in 1952), also known as Emare Karaka is a New Zealand artist of Māori ( Ngāti Tai ki Tāmaki, Ngati Hine, Ngāpuhi) descent Kirker, Anne. ''New Zealand Women Artists'' Reed Methuen, 1986 Her work is recognised for ...

, and Saffronn Te Ratana. With regular exhibitions in New Zealand and throughout the world, her work is held several collections including at

Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki is the principal public gallery in Auckland, New Zealand. It has the most extensive collection of national and international art in New Zealand and frequently hosts travelling international exhibitions. Set be ...

, Te Papa Tongarewa Museum of New Zealand, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, The Arts House Trust, and 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 ...

. She is "recognised as one of the most important Māori artists of her generation". A survey exhibition of her work spanning 20 years titled ''He Tangata The People'' opened at the New Zealand Portrait Gallery Te Pūkenga Whakaata in 2020 and has been presented at the Sarjeant Gallery Te Whare o Rehua (2021),

Pah Homestead The Pah Homestead is a historic home located in the suburb of Hillsborough in Auckland, New Zealand, within the bounds of Monte Cecilia Park. It is owned by the Auckland Council, and is currently used as an art gallery, housing the Arts House T ...

(2021/2022), and the

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 ...

(2022). Another survey exhibition was held at

Pātaka Art + Museum Pātaka Museum of Arts and Cultures, often stylised as Pātaka Art + Museum, is a municipal museum and art gallery in Porirua City, New Zealand. Te Marae o Te Umu Kai o Hau is the name of the building where Pātaka is located and opened in 1998 ...

in Porirua, ''Kia tau te Rangimārie – Let Peace be Among Us'' (24 July – 30 October 2022). Pātaka describes her art work: "She paints enigmatic figures in shifting landscapes that explore emotion and memory, journeys of loss and endurance, and relationships with immediate whānau and tūpuna."

Awards and residencies

In 2014 Gossage won the Arts Foundation's New Generation Award and was nominated for the Singapore Signature Art Prize from Singapore Art Museum. Gossage participated in the ''Mana Moana'' residency in

Honolulu, Hawaii Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

in 2016, part of a cultural exchange between Hawaii and New Zealand, and supported through the Creative New Zealand International Indigenous Artform Exchange.

Life

Education

Exhibitions and collections

Awards and residencies

References

Further reading