Kura Te Waru Rewiri (born 1950) is a

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

artist, academic and educator. Art historian Deidre Brown described her as "one of Aotearoa, New Zealand's most celebrated Māori women artists."

Background and education

Te Waru Rewiri is the eldest of nine children. She was born in 1950 in

Kaeo Kaeo (Māori: ''Kāeo'') is a township in the Far North District of New Zealand, located some northwest of Kerikeri. The town takes its name from the ''kāeo'' or New Zealand freshwater mussel, which is found in the nearby rivers. Sanfords ...

in the far north of New Zealand to Sam and Geneva Davis. She is of

Ngāti Kahu Ngāti Kahu is a Māori iwi of Northland, New Zealand. The iwi is one of the six Muriwhenua iwi of the far north of the North Island. Ngāti Kahu take their name from their founding ancestress, Kahutianui, and link their ancestry back to the w ...

Ngāpuhi Ngāpuhi (or Ngā Puhi) is a Māori iwi associated with the Northland region of New Zealand and centred in the Hokianga, the Bay of Islands, and Whangārei. According to the 2018 New Zealand census, the estimated population of Ngāpuhi is 16 ...

, Ngāti Kauwhata, Ngāti Rangi descent Te Waru Rewiri attended Northland College where she was taught by Selwyn Wilson. She then attended Bay of Islands College and was taught by Buck Nin who encouraged her to study at

Ilam School of Fine Arts The Ilam School of Fine Arts at the University of Canterbury was founded in 1882 as the Canterbury College School of Art. The school became a full department of the university in the 1950s, and was the first department to move to the suburban Ila ...

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon Rive ...

. During her time at Ilam she was tutored by Don Peebles and Bill Sutton and graduated in 1973 with a Diploma in Fine Art (Honours) majoring in painting. Whilst at the University of Canterbury Te Waru Rewiri, alongside Eruera Nia and Tame Iti became involved in Nga Tamatoa (Tuatoru) Christchurch chapter. Her honours year was supervised by Rudi Gopas and her thesis focused on pre-European Māori art, specifically stone tool carving. Te Waru Rewiri states:

At the time it was restricting for Māori women to research carving because of the restriction of tbeing a male-only area. Today we are informed by Tohunga Whakairo that women have always carved. As Māori women we have to redefine our past so that we know where we stand now.

In 1974 Te Waru Rewiri completed study to be a secondary teacher at Christchurch Training College.

Art career

Te Waru Rewiri has exhibited extensively in

and internationally since 1985. Her work is held in both private and public collections such as the Auckland Art Gallery and

Te Papa Tongarewa The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa is New Zealand's national museum and is located in Wellington. ''Te Papa Tongarewa'' translates literally to "container of treasures" or in full "container of treasured things and people that spring fr ...

. Te Waru Rewiri creates

contemporary art Contemporary art is the art of today, produced in the second half of the 20th century or in the 21st century. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a dynamic co ...

and draws upon traditional Māori art, she uses Māori images in her work such as

kowhaiwhai The ''koru'' () is a spiral shape based on the appearance of a new unfurling silver fern frond. It is an integral symbol in Māori art, carving and tattooing, where it symbolises new life, growth, strength and peace. Its shape "conveys the id ...

patterns,

weaving Weaving is a method of textile production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. Other methods are knitting, crocheting, felting, and braiding or plaiting. The longitudinal ...

and

tā moko ' is the permanent marking or " tattoo" as traditionally practised by Māori, the indigenous people of New Zealand. It is one of the five main Polynesian tattoo styles (the other four are Marquesan, Samoan, Tahitian and Hawaiian). (tattooi ...

. During the mid-1980s Te Waru Rewiri and her contemporaries such as

Shona Rapira Davies Shona Rapira Davies (born 1951) is a sculptor and painter of Ngātiwai ki Aotea tribal descent. Currently residing in Wellington New Zealand. Education Rapira Davies first studied at the Auckland College of Education, majoring in art, and lat ...

, Robyn Kahukiwa and

Emily Karaka Emily (Emare) Karaka (born Auckland in 1952) 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 "its expressive inten ...

gave voice to the concerns surrounding Māori women's sovereignty. Megan Tamati-Quennell writes, "The space Te Waru Rewiri and her contemporaries occupied was really that of mana wāhine Māori". A recurring image seen in Te Waru Rewiri's works is the cross, which carries many different meanings depending on its context and treatment. Her art work ''Te Rīpeka (Crucifixion)'' (1985), is about the 19th century censorship of Māori carving by the church. Influenced by the Ratana religious and political movement, her expressive paintings explore the effects of colonisation and portray the significance of

taonga ''Taonga'' or ''taoka'' (in South Island Māori) is a Maori-language word that refers to a treasured possession in Māori culture. It lacks a direct translation into English, making its use in the Treaty of Waitangi significant. The current d ...

Māori. As curator Nigel Borell writes, "Kura Te Waru Rewiri's painting practice has forged new ways to understand and appreciate the scope of contemporary painting informed by Māori realities, beliefs and paradigms." A lithograph by Te Waru Rewiri called ''Mask V'' is held in the collections of 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 ...

. In 2012 Mangere Arts Centre Ngā Tohu o Uenuku held a survey exhibition of Te Waru Rewiri's work curated by Nigel Borell. The accompanying publication ''KURA: Story of a Māori Women Artist'' include essays by prominent Māori curators, Megan Tamati-Quennell, Ngahiraka Mason and Dr Deidre Brown. In 2014 Te Waru Rewiri's work featured in ''Five Māori Painters'' a major exhibition held at Auckland Art Gallery. In 2019 Te Waru Rewiri was recognised with a Te Waka Toi award, 'Te Tohu o Te Papa Tongarewa Rongomaraeroa , Outstanding contribution to Ngā Toi Māori'.

Work life

From 1974 to 1984, Te Waru Rewiri taught in secondary schools across the North Island until she decided to paint full-time. Te Waru Rewiri also taught at Whanganui Polytecnic and in 1993 she became the first Māori women to teach at

Elam School of Fine Arts The Elam School of Fine Arts, founded by John Edward Elam, is part of the Faculty of Creative Arts and Industries at the University of Auckland. Students study degrees in fine art with an emphasis on a multidisciplinary approach. The schoo ...

. From 1996 to 2004 Te Waru Rewiri lectured at Toioho ki Āpiti a Māori Visual Arts degree at Massey University's Palmerston North Campus alongside Robert Jahnke, Rachael Rakena and

Shane Cotton Shane William Cotton (born 3 October 1964) is a New Zealand painter whose work explores biculturalism, colonialism, cultural identity, Māori spirituality, and life and death. Life Cotton was born in Upper Hutt with Ngāpuhi iwi affiliations ...

. Te Waru Rewiri is currently a senior tutor in Maunga Kura Toi a Bachelor of Māori Art at Northtec Tai Tokerau Wānanga. Te Waru Rewiri is also a board member of Te Waka Toi, the Māori arts board of

Creative New Zealand The Arts Council of New Zealand Toi Aotearoa (Creative New Zealand) is the national arts development agency of the New Zealand government, investing in artists and arts organisations, offering capability building programmes and developing markets ...

External links

Five Māori PaintersKura Te Waru Rewiri bioWorks in the collection of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa TongarewaCurator Ngahiraka Mason on the exhibition ''Five Maori Artists''
Standing Room Only,

Radio New Zealand National RNZ National ( mi, Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa Ā-Motu), formerly Radio New Zealand National, and known until 2007 as the National Programme or National Radio, is a publicly funded non-commercial New Zealand English-language radio network operat ...

, 2014

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rewiri, Kura Te Waru New Zealand painters New Zealand Māori artists 1950 births Living people University of Canterbury alumni People educated at Bay of Islands College People educated at Northland College, Kaikohe New Zealand women artists Ngāti Rangi people Academic staff of Massey University

Background and education

Art career

Work life

External links

Further reading

References