Andy Leleisi’uao (b. 1969) is a New Zealand artist of Samoan heritage known for his modern and post-modern Pacific paintings and art. He was paramount winner at the 26th annual

Wallace Art Awards The Wallace Art Awards was an annual visual arts award ceremony in New Zealand, established in 1992 and running until 2021. Their goal was to "support, promote and expose contemporary New Zealand art and artists". History The awards were estab ...

in 2017 and awarded a Senior Pacific Artist Award at the

Arts Pasifika Awards The Arts Pasifika Awards celebrate excellence in Pacific arts in New Zealand. The annual awards are administered by Creative New Zealand and are the only national awards for Pasifika artists across all artforms. The Arts Pasifika Awards includ ...

in 2021.

Background

Leleisi’uao was born in 1969 New Zealand and grew up in

Māngere Māngere () is a major suburb in South Auckland, New Zealand, located on mainly flat land on the northeastern shore of the Manukau Harbour, to the northwest of Manukau, Manukau City Centre and south of the Auckland CBD, Auckland city centre. ...

, South Auckland. He has one sister, his parents were both born in Samoa and are Pepe (Lalomauga,

Upolu Upolu is an island in Samoa, formed by a massive basaltic shield volcano which rises from the seafloor of the western Pacific Ocean. The island is long and in area, making it the second largest of the Samoan Islands by area. With approximate ...

) and Tuifa’asisina Tinou'amea (

Palauli Palauli is a district and village of Samoa, with a population (2016 Census) of 9,300. It consists of two sections on the southern side of Savai'i. The capital is Vailoa which is also referred to as Vailoa i Palauli (Vailoa in Palauli district). ...

, Savai'i). Leleisi'uao went to Māngere College and afterwards had some factory jobs. He studied at the Auckland University of Technology (AUT) School of Art and Design and received the first ever Pasifika Scholarship in 2000. In 2002 Leleisi’uao graduated with a Master of Fine Arts (with Honours). He has been a full time artist since 1996. He has attended a number of arts residencies including a Research Scholarship at Macmillan Brown Centre for Pacific Studies,

University of Canterbury The University of Canterbury (UC; ; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was founded in 1873 as Canterbur ...

, and the McCahon House Artists’ Residency in 2010. He spent three months in Taiwan in 2010 on an Asia New Zealand Foundation residency with the Taipei Artist Village. Leleisi'uao has been based in the Auckland suburb of Māngere for over 40 years. He said about artists in an interview with Ema Tavola "For any artist to be mentally fecund, they have to be open." Some of the visual references in his work are

Stone Age The Stone Age was a broad prehistory, prehistoric period during which Rock (geology), stone was widely used to make stone tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years and ended b ...

rock art, classical

Greek vase painting Pottery, due to its relative durability, comprises a large part of the archaeological record of ancient Greece, and since there is so much of it (over 100,000 painted vases are recorded in the Corpus vasorum antiquorum), it has exerted a dispr ...

Egyptian hieroglyphs Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs ( ) were the formal writing system used in Ancient Egypt for writing the Egyptian language. Hieroglyphs combined Ideogram, ideographic, logographic, syllabic and alphabetic elements, with more than 1,000 distinct char ...

, and Samoan ''siapa'' (

tapa Tapa, TAPA, Tapas or Tapasya may refer to: Media *Tapas (website), a webtoon site, formerly known as Tapastic * ''Tapas'' (film), a 2005 Spanish film * ''Tapasya'' (1976 film), an Indian Hindi-language film * ''Tapasya'' (1992 film), a Nepalese f ...

) cloth. It is said in his paintings that reoccurring motifs, "remind us of the inherent humanity of his creatures, and the universality of their struggle and endeavour within a limited existence". His work style has changed over the years of his practice, in the late 1990s his paintings were highly politicized dealing with subjects such as prejudice and racism, poverty and youth suicide amongst Pacific Island populations in New Zealand. Since the 2000s his work utilises 'mythology and spiritualism' with 'fantastical creatures' although still drawing upon 'social dislocation'. Leleisi'uao had quite a few exhibitions in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. In 2009, Leleisi'uao had a solo exhibition ''Asefeka of the Unmalosa'' in Kips Gallery, Chelsea, New York. he returned to New York City in 2010 with the BCA group show ''MANUIA'', co-curated by

Mahiriki Tangaroa Mahiriki Tangaroa (born 1973, Auckland, New Zealand) is a New Zealand-born Cook Islands photographer and painter. She is a former director of the Cook Islands National Museum. She is recognised as a leading contemporary Cook Islands artist, and h ...

and Ben Bergman, exhibiting with artists Mike Tavioni,

Michel Tuffery Michael "Michel" Cliff Tuffery (born 27 May 1966) is a New Zealand artist of Samoan, Tahitian and Cook Islands descent. He is one of New Zealand's most well known artists and his work is held in many art collections in New Zealand and around ...

, Sylvia Marsters, Kay George, Jerome Shedden, and Mahikiri Tangaroa. In 2011, Leleisi'uao had a solo exhibition ''The Ufological City of New York'' with BCA Gallery (now

Bergman Gallery Bergman Gallery is an international commercial art gallery with an original gallery in Rarotonga, Cook Islands, and a second gallery in Auckland, New Zealand. Bergman Gallery represents and has represented many significant international artist ...

) at VOLTA New York. In 2021, Leleisi'uao and Bergman Gallery participated in Tokyo International Art Fair,

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

His 2006 exhibition ''Empowered Wallflower -'' Whitespace, Ponsonby was about a new generations relationship to Fa'a Samoa and how domestic aspects such as using a traditional ''salu'' broom are important. In 2017 he won the Wallace Art Awards including a six-month residency in New York the 'International Studio and Curatorial Programme'. In May 2023, there was an exhibition of Leleisi'uao's work in

Te Uru Waitākere Contemporary Gallery Te Uru Waitākere Contemporary Gallery (commonly known as Te Uru, formerly known as Lopdell House Gallery) is a contemporary art gallery located in Titirangi, Auckland. The gallery, which serves the West Auckland region, was originally opened wi ...

titled ''Unbeautiful Evening'', where some of his damaged works were affected by the catastrophic

2023 Auckland Anniversary Weekend floods Beginning on Friday, 27 January 2023, regions across the upper North Island of New Zealand experienced widespread catastrophic floods caused by heavy rainfall, with Auckland being the most significantly affected as the Auckland Anniversary Day, ...

are displayed. His art work is held in the collections of

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 ...

, The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa,

Auckland Art Gallery 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 ...

, Chartwell Trust, Arts House Trust,

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 ...

, Casula Powerhouse,

Museum der Weltkulturen The Museum of World Cultures () is an ethnological museum in Frankfurt, Germany. Until 2001 it was called the Museum of Ethnology (''Museum für Völkerkunde''). It is part of Frankfurt's Museumsufer (Museum Riverbank). History It was found ...

, Auckland Council and

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 ...

Awards

*2017 - Paramount winner at the 26th annual Wallace Art Awards *2021 - Senior Pacific Artist Award - Arts Pasifika Awards - Creative New Zealand.

Selected residencies

*2018 - 5 months residency at International Studio & Curatorial Program (ISCP), New York, United States of America *2010 - McCahon House Artist Residency, McCahon Trust, Titirangi, Auckland, New Zealand *1999 - Research Scholarship at Macmillan Brown Centre for Pacific Studies,

*2010 - Asia New Zealand Foundation residency with the Taipei Artist Village,

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

Selected solo exhibitions

This is a small selection of exhibitions. By 2019 Leleisi'uao had already had 85 solo exhibitions, and many groups ones. *2024: ''Archipelago Area 51'',

, Rarotonga, Cook Islands *2023: ''Andy Leleisi'uao: Beautiful Evening'',

, New Zealand *2021: ''An Uncanny Catharsis of Unrequited Bones’ -'' Artis Gallery, Parnell, New Zealand *2021: ''Consiliation Gatherers'', Milford Galleries, Queenstown, New Zealand *2019: ''Andy Leleisi'uao'', Bergman Gallery, Tokyo International Art Fair,

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

*2019: ''A Diasporic Pulse of Faith and Patience'', Bergman Gallery, Rarotonga, Cook Islands *2019: ''KAMOAN MINE'' (survey exhibition), TSB Wallace Arts Centre, Pah Homestead, Auckland, New Zealand *2019: ''Embryonic Uslands'', Milford Galleries, Dunedin, New Zealand *2018: ''Mangere Aroha'', Bergman Gallery, Rarotonga, Cook Islands *2018: ''A Clouded Diaspora'', Milford Galleries, Queenstown, New Zealand *2017: ''Untitled'', Fresh Gallery, Ōtara, Auckland, New Zealand *2016: ''Ubiquitous People of Erodipolis'', Milford Galleries, Dunedin, New Zealand *2015: ''Atmosphere People of Moana'', Milford Galleries, Dunedin, New Zealand *2014: ''Waking up to the Obscurity People'', Te Uru Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand *2014: ''Waking up to the Oculus People'', Milford Galleries, Queenstown, New Zealand *2013: ''The Choirs of Lupotea'', Milford Galleries, Dunedin, New Zealand *2012: ''Polyneitus Spring'', Milford Galleries, Dunedin, New Zealand *2011: ''The Ufological City of New York'', BCA Gallery (now Bergman Gallery), VOLTA New York, New York, United States of America *2011: ''The World of Erodipolis'', Milford Galleries, Dunedin, New Zealand *2009: ''Asefeka of the Unmalosa,'' Kips Gallery, Chelsea, New York, United States of America *2006: ''Andy Leleisi'uao: Empowered Wallflower -'' Whitespace, Ponsonby, New Zealand *2005: ''Cheeky Darkie'' - Whitespace, Ponsonby (featuring miniature sculptures), New Zealand

Selected group exhibitions

This is a small selection of exhibitions. By 2019 Leleisi'uao had already had 85 solo exhibitions, and many groups ones. *2024: ''Horizon 2'',

, Auckland, New Zealand *2024: ''South-Versed24'', Mangere Arts Centre, Auckland, New Zealand *2023: ''Horizon'', Bergman Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand *2023: ''South-Versed23'', Depot Artspace, Auckland, New Zealand *2023: ''Tusiata o le Tala le Vavau: Artists of the Forever Stories'', Mangere Arts Centre, Auckland, New Zealand *2022: ''Fa'atasi'', Bergman Gallery, Rarotonga,

Cook Islands The Cook Islands is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of 15 islands whose total land area is approximately . The Cook Islands' Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) covers of ocean. Avarua is its ...

*2022: ''Te Atuitanga'' - ''Beneath our Cloak of Stars,'' Bergman Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand *2019: ''The Big Blue'', Bergman Gallery,

Rarotonga Rarotonga is the largest and most populous of the Cook Islands. The island is volcanic, with an area of , and is home to almost 75% of the country's population, with 10,898 of a total population of 15,040. The Parliament of the Cook Islands, Coo ...

, Cook Islands *2018: ''MPA1'', Bergman Gallery, Rarotonga, Cook Islands *2017: Return to Havaiki, Bergman Gallery, Rarotonga, Cook Islands *2010: ''MANUIA'', BCA Gallery (now Bergman Gallery) the American Indian Community House, New York, United States of America

Book

*''Andy Leleisi'uao: KAMOAN MINE'' (

, TSB Wallace Arts Centre,

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 established in 1963. It invests in artists and arts organisations, offering capability building programmes a ...

, 2019)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leleisi'uao, Andy Living people 21st-century New Zealand painters 21st-century New Zealand male artists Samoan painters Artists from Auckland 1969 births Auckland University of Technology alumni