Louis Joseph Rivera Bretaña (born 1967) is a Filipino-born New Zealand painter and sculptor with roots in

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

and the Visayan province of

Iloilo Iloilo ( ; ), officially the Province of Iloilo (; ; ; ), is a province in the Philippines located in the Western Visayas region. Its capital and largest city is Iloilo City, the regional center of Western Visayas and politically independen ...

. Bretaña graduated with

Bachelor of Fine Arts A Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) is a standard undergraduate degree for students pursuing a professional education in the visual arts, Fine art, or performing arts. In some instances, it is also called a Bachelor of Visual Arts (BVA). Background ...

degree from the

University of the Philippines The University of the Philippines (UP; ) is a Higher education in the Philippines#State universities and colleges, state university system in the Philippines. It is the country's national university, as mandated by List of Philippine laws, Re ...

College of Fine Arts, and moved to New Zealand in 2011. He subsequently earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts with first-class honours (2018) and a

Master of Fine Arts A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.) is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts admi ...

degree (2019) from the

Elam School of Fine Arts The Elam School of Fine Arts, founded by John Edward Elam, is part of the University of Auckland Faculty of Creative Arts and Industries, Faculty of Creative Arts and Industries at the University of Auckland. It offered the first Bachelor of ...

at the

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 ...

. Bretaña's work actively challenges Euro-western colonial histories and encouraging a respectful engagement with culture via conversation and interaction. Bretaña's notable performance piece ''Eat My Rice'' was held in multiple locations throughout New Zealand, including Viaducts Events Centre as part of Aotearoa Art Fair, New Lynn Community Centre, Projectspace Gallery, RM Gallery, and Play_Station. ''Eat My Rice'' is a reimagining of the Filipino pre-colonial feast, where participants eat the

rice Rice is a cereal grain and in its Domestication, domesticated form is the staple food of over half of the world's population, particularly in Asia and Africa. Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice)—or, much l ...

with bare hands, food served on

banana leaves The banana leaf is the leaf of the banana plant, which may produce up to 40 leaves in a growing cycle. The leaves have a wide range of applications because they are large, flexible, waterproof and decorative. They are used for cooking, wrappin ...

, and letting go of standards and expectations of Euro-western society. In 2025, Bretaña performed ''Eat My Rice'' in Viaducts Events Centre as part of Aotearoa Art Fair, biggest art fair in New Zealand. Pre-Christianity Filipino deities play a major role in Bretaña's paintings and sculptures; they act as a platform for pre-colonial Filipino narratives and mythologies, using glitter and glass crystals, but are merged with the local New Zealand context. In a Radio New Zealand interview, he stated "My works look into stories, myths and legends that I heard in my youth and I then translate them into paintings." In 2024, Bretaña was awarded Artist of the Year, Filipino-Kiwi Hero Awards 2024 for his contribution to the New Zealand's visual arts.

Selected solo exhibitions

* 2024: ''Someone to Watch Over Me'',

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 ...

, Auckland New Zealand * 2023: ''Eat My Rice'', part of World of Cultures,

New Lynn New Lynn is a residential suburb in West Auckland, New Zealand, West Auckland, New Zealand, located 10 kilometres to the southwest of the Auckland CBD, Auckland city centre. The suburb is located along the Whau River, one of the narrowest poi ...

Community Centre,

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

New Zealand * 2021: ''Tumingala sa tinitingala na mga tala'',

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 ...

, Auckland, New Zealand * 2021: ''Dito sa Lupa Para nang sa Langit- On Earth as it is in the Heavens,'' Franklin Arts Centre, Auckland, New Zealand * 2020: ''Blessed Art Thou'', Studio One Toi Tū, Auckland, New Zealand * 2017: ''Eat My Rice,'' RM Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand * 2017: ''Eat My Rice,'' Performance Art Week Aotearoa, Play_Station, Wellington, New Zealand * 2017: ''Eat My Rice,'' Projectspace Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand * 2017: ''Eat My Rice'', part of Performance Art Week Aotearoa, Play_Station, Auckland, New Zealand

Selected group exhibitions

* 2025: ''Aotearoa Art Fair'', Bergman Gallery, Viaduct Events Centre, Auckland, New Zealand * 2024: ''Belonging: Stories of Contemporary New Zealand Asian Artists'', Bergman Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand * 2024: ''Aotearoa Art Fair'', Bergman Gallery, Viaduct Events Centre, Auckland, New Zealand * 2023: ''Five Painters'', Bergman Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand * 2023: ''A Place to Call Home - Contemporary New Zealand Asian Art'', Bergman Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand * 2023: ''Oasis/Respite 2.0'', part of Auckland Pride Festival, Corbins Estate Art Centre & Studio One Toi Tū, Auckland, New Zealand * 2023: ''Pride and Prejudice... Part 1,'' Bergman Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand * 2021: ''Syokes: Marc Conaco and Louie Bretaña'',

Objectspace Objectspace is a public art gallery in Auckland, New Zealand. It opened in 2004 and is dedicated to the fields of craft, applied arts and design. Organisation Objectspace's founding chair was jeweller Warwick Freeman. The gallery's founding dir ...

, Auckland, New Zealand * 2021: ''Vaka to A Billion Stars,''

Matariki In Māori culture, Matariki is the Pleiades star cluster and a celebration of its first rising in late June or early July. The rising marks the beginning of the new year in the Māori lunar calendar. Historically, Matariki was usually celebr ...

Festival 2021, Silo 6, Silo Park, Auckland, New Zealand * 2019: ''Showcase'', Fresh Gallery Ōtara, Auckland, New Zealand

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bretana, Louie 1967 births Living people New Zealand painters Filipino artists University of the Philippines alumni Filipino emigrants to New Zealand Elam Art School alumni 21st-century New Zealand artists 21st-century New Zealand male artists Artists from Auckland New Zealand people of Filipino descent