Star 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 relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating ...

and

surrealism Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to l ...

, 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 C ...

concepts such as

whānau Whānau () is Māori for extended family. It is also used in everyday New Zealand English, as well as in official publications. In Māori society, the whānau is also a political unit, below the levels of hapū (subtribe) and iwi (tribe or natio ...

and

whakapapa Whakapapa (, ), or genealogy, is a fundamental principle in Māori culture. Reciting one's whakapapa proclaims one's Māori identity, places oneself in a wider context, and links oneself to land and tribal groupings and the mana of those. Exper ...

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 Okura 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 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 out to Great B ...

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

, French, English and Portuguese descent; the great-great-granddaughter of Rahui Te Kiri, and daughter of the artists Tilly and Peter Gossage. 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 Otago Polytechnic was a public New Zealand tertiary education institute, centred in Dunedin with additional campuses in Cromwell and Auckland. Otago Polytechnic provided career-focused education and training, offering a range of New Zealand accr ...

. 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 Kahukiwa (born 1938) is an Australian-born New Zealand artist, award-winning children's book author, and illustrator. Kahukiwa has created a significant collection of paintings, books, prints, drawings, and sculptures. Life Kahukiwa was b ...

Kura Te Waru Rewiri Kura Te Waru Rewiri (born 1950) 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." Background and education Te Waru Rewiri is the ...

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 ...

, and

Saffronn Te Ratana Saffronn Te Ratana (born 1975) is a visual artist of Māori ( Ngāi Tuhoe) descent, born in Palmerston North, New Zealand. Te Ratana went to Palmerston Intermediate Normal School, followed by Palmerston North Girls’ High School. Her work '' ...

. 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 Wallace Arts Trust, and the

University of Auckland , mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work , established = 1883; years ago , endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021) , budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021) , chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant , vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...

. 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. It is owned by the Auckland Council, and is currently used as an art gallery, housing the James Wallace Art Trust's collection of New Zealand ar ...

(2021/2022), and the

Waikato Museum Waikato Museum ( mi, Te Whare Taonga o Waikato) 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 ...

(2022). Another survey exhibition was held at Pātaka Art + Museum 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 capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island o ...

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