OPENING EVENT:
Wednesday, 1 July, 5.30-7.30pm

FURTHER IMAGES TO COME.  TO REQUEST A CATALOGUE PRICE LIST WHEN AVAIABLE, PLEASE EMAIL THE GALLERY TO REGISTER INTEREST.

An exhibition organised by Philip Kelly for Matariki featuring new work by
SHANE COTTON (Ngāpuhi / Ngāti Rangi / Ngāti Hine / Te Uri Taniwha)
NIKAU HINDIN (Ngāpuhi / Te Rarawa / Ngai Tūpoto)
RANGI KIPA (Te Atiawa / Taranaki Iwi /  Ngati Mutunga / Ngati Tama )
REUBEN PATERSON (Ngāti Rangitihi / Ngāi Tūhoe / Tūhourangi / Scottish)
LISA REIHANA (Ngāpuhi / Ngāti Hine / Ngāi Tūteauru / Ngāi Tūpoto) 

‘Tūhononga’ brings together five leading contemporary Māori artists whose practices traverse painting, sculpture, installation, digital media, and customary arts. While distinct in approach, their works share a commitment to exploring the complexities of identity, whakapapa, memory, and cultural continuity within contemporary Aotearoa and beyond.

The constellation of Matariki (the Pleiades star cluster) implies a system of close relationships. The kupu tūhononga may describe interpersonal connections or a literal cluster of objects. It acts as a guiding principle for this collection of artists to celebrate the new year in the Māori calendar.

Matariki celebrations are now a national celebration, an established marker of time in the national consciousness. With the rising of the Matariki star cluster we usher in a new year that is specific to this place and time. In sync with this holiday, we present a group show that considers whetū (stars), and celestial navigation, as a thematic to observe relationships between the practices of these artists – a cluster of connections.

Together these artists challenge fixed understandings of Māori art, demonstrating its capacity to engage with ancestral knowledge while responding to contemporary social, political, and technological realities. Through diverse visual languages, they navigate relationships between land and sky, tradition and innovation, personal narrative and collective history. Their works invite viewers to consider how cultural knowledge is transmitted, transformed, and reimagined across time.  They demonstrate the vitality and diversity of contemporary Māori art. Their practices affirm that culture is not static but continually renewed through creativity, dialogue, and connection. Through their work, ancestral knowledge remains a living force—shaping how we understand the past, engage with the present, and imagine the future.

Reuben Paterson and Shane Cotton courtesy of Gow Langsford Gallery.

Image: Reuben Paterson