Rangi Kipa (Te Atiawa, Taranaki Iwi, Ngati Mutunga, Ngati Tama ) is a contemporary Māori artist, master carver and arts leader from Aotearoa New Zealand. His work is grounded in whakapapa, tikanga, and the traditions of whakairo and explores relationships between ancestral knowledge, contemporary identity, and the ongoing vitality of Māori material culture.

Kipa trained as a carver at the Maraeroa Carving School at Waitangirua, where he began his journey to develop the cultural and technical foundations that continue to shape his practice. His training connected him to a lineage of creative critical thinkers and to the broader revitalisation of Māori and pacific creative praxis in the twentieth century. 

While grounded in customary practice, Kipa’s was empowered by progressive thinkers in Maori academic and cultural sectors he was being exposed to and he embraced the enquiry and freedom of not being restricted to customary approaches and media

Kipa extended his 2 and 3D explorations into contemporary community praxis of what he describes as ‘cultural recovery’, realised through reviving traditions and techniques that have been discaffected by the colonial project.  He has participated in concert with others to dedicating time to researching and restoring a range of practises by engaging decolonising methodologies, experimenting with materials and evolving conceptual approaches that over decades of work have made significant contributions to the rich diversity and subsequent social and cultural wellbeing of Maori 

Working across a diverse range of materials - including wood, stone, metal, and marine-derived materials such as whale bone and teeth from species including the Sperm Whale - Kipa creates works that acknowledge both ancestral practice and contemporary experience. His carvings frequently draw on traditional forms such as manaia and kōwhaiwhai rhythms, while adapting these visual languages to new sculptural and conceptual forms.

Kipa has exhibited widely in Aotearoa and internationally. His work has appeared in major exhibitions including the Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art and in leading New Zealand institutions such as Te Papa Tongarewa and Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki.  His work was also included in the landmark exhibition “Toi Tū Toi Ora: Contemporary Māori Art” curated by Nigel Borell for the Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki in 2021 , which surveyed the breadth and vitality of contemporary Māori artistic practice.

In 2025, Kipa’s work appeared on the cover of “Toi Te Mana: An Indigenous History of Māori Art”, a major publication examining the history and development of Māori art. The selection of his work for the cover underscores the significance of his practice within the evolving narrative of Māori art.

Kipa’s works are held in significant public collections throughout Aotearoa including those of Te Papa Tongarewa, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, and the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, reflecting the recognition of his work within major cultural institutions.

Alongside his studio practice, Kipa has also been involved in collaborative design and cultural projects. As principal of Tīhei Studio, he has worked on a range of co-design initiatives that bring Māori cultural values, narratives, and visual language into architectural and public design contexts. Most recently this has included 

• Te Hono/New Plymouth Airport
• Te Rua Mahara O Te Kawanatanga/National Archives
• London House/NZ Embassey
• Te Matapihi Ki Te Ao Nui/Wgtn Central Library
• Te Puna Matauranga O Aotearoa National Library
• Te Ngakau Civic Square
• Te Aro Park
• NEWB/Taranaki Base Hospital
• Te Manu Hononga/St Marys

Through this work he contributes his expertise in whakairo, symbolism, and tikanga to projects that integrate Māori perspectives within contemporary built environments.

Across his career, Kipa’s practice remains deeply connected to whakapapa, material knowledge, and the transmission of cultural practices. Through carving and contemporary art-making, he continues to explore how traditional forms and materials can evolve while maintaining their cultural integrity, creating works that speak to both ancestral histories and present-day realities.

Rangi Kipa will show new work for the first time with Melanie Roger Gallery as a solo presentation at the 2026 Aotearoa Art Fair on Thursday 30 April and Friday 1 May.