Shane Cotton
Te U Kai Po, 2023-24
oil on canvas
2000 x 1600mm
Shane Cotton b. 1964 (Ngā Puhi, Ngāti Rangi, Ngāti Hine and Te Uri Taniwha) Shane Cotton established himself at the forefront of the renaissance of Māori art in the 1990s...
Shane Cotton
b. 1964 (Ngā Puhi, Ngāti Rangi, Ngāti Hine and Te Uri Taniwha)
Shane Cotton established himself at the forefront of the renaissance of Māori art in the 1990s and his distinguished career now spans over three decades. His practice is underpinned by recurrent questioning of his own bicultural roots, along with our collective cultural identity. He has created a distinctive iconography, which draws on both European and Māori historical sources, and explores complex issues of colonisation, bicultural exchange, and identity.
Cotton’s work frequently refers to Māori folk art – art that developed post-contact, and incorporated elements from European culture. He has shaped this swathe of visual references and touchstones into a contemporary visual lexicon. In Te U Kai Po (2023-24), the artist presents the viewer with an arrangement of flowers in a vessel. While floral still life has a long tradition in Western painting, Cotton draws in elements of customary Māori motifs to create an artwork distinct to Aotearoa. His palette and paint handling give the work a vibrant, contemporary tone.
Shane Cotton is as an internationally renowned New Zealand artist, who has exhibited extensively in New Zealand and abroad. In 2008, he received a Laureate Award from the New Zealand Arts Foundation and, in 2012 was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to the visual arts.
b. 1964 (Ngā Puhi, Ngāti Rangi, Ngāti Hine and Te Uri Taniwha)
Shane Cotton established himself at the forefront of the renaissance of Māori art in the 1990s and his distinguished career now spans over three decades. His practice is underpinned by recurrent questioning of his own bicultural roots, along with our collective cultural identity. He has created a distinctive iconography, which draws on both European and Māori historical sources, and explores complex issues of colonisation, bicultural exchange, and identity.
Cotton’s work frequently refers to Māori folk art – art that developed post-contact, and incorporated elements from European culture. He has shaped this swathe of visual references and touchstones into a contemporary visual lexicon. In Te U Kai Po (2023-24), the artist presents the viewer with an arrangement of flowers in a vessel. While floral still life has a long tradition in Western painting, Cotton draws in elements of customary Māori motifs to create an artwork distinct to Aotearoa. His palette and paint handling give the work a vibrant, contemporary tone.
Shane Cotton is as an internationally renowned New Zealand artist, who has exhibited extensively in New Zealand and abroad. In 2008, he received a Laureate Award from the New Zealand Arts Foundation and, in 2012 was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to the visual arts.