Artists John Pule

b. 1962, Niue
Lives and works in Auckland, New Zealand

John Pule was born in the village of Liku in Niue, and immigrated to New Zealand at the age of two in 1964.  Pule first visited Niue as an adult in 1991 and has since returned to live and work.  His strong interest in the history and mythology of Niue continues to inform his work to this day. Pule is an accomplished painter, printmaker, poet and writer.  His work is highly inventive, particularly in its adaptation of traditional Pacific art forms.  It is also challenging and provocative in content. 

John Pule is arguably one of the Pacific’s most significant artists. He has been at the forefront of contemporary New Zealand art since he began his painting practice in the early 1990s. His work is held in major public collections in Australasia including Auckland Art Gallery, Te Papa Tongarewa, The National Gallery of Victoria and Queensland Art Gallery. Career highlights include a survey exhibition at the City Gallery Wellington (2010) and inclusion in exhibitions at Museo de Atre Contemporaneo, Santiago, Chile (2012), Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane (2011) and the Neuer Berliner Kunstverein, Berlin (2007).

His work is the subject of several books including the monograph Hauaga (Otago University Press, 2010). Pule is also a published writer and poet. He was the recipient of the New Zealand Order of Merit for the services to the Arts in 2012.

Gow Langsford Gallery has represented John Pule since 1994.


Links

Art Collector, Issue 70

Art Asia Pacific, Issue 67

Art NZ, Issue 99

selected exhibitions

Download Curriculum Vitae

2021 Still not close enough, Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland

2019 Everywhere in the World, Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland

2016 Return To The First Time of My Life / Liu Ke He Mogo Fakapa He Haaku a Moui, Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland

2015 The Great World (Fonua Galo), Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland

2012 The Blue Plateau of Polynesian Memory, Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland
Dark Saints, Martin Browne Contemporary, Sydney
I was born with wings in my hands, Jonathan Smart Gallery, Christchurch

2011 John Pule: A Survey, Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland

2010 Hauaga, City Gallery, Wellington

2009 Nothing Must Remain, Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland

2007 Recent paintings, Karen Woodbury Gallery, Melbourne

2006 Another Green World, Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland

2005 John Pule, Galerie Römerapotheke, Zurich, Switzerland

2004 Niniko Lalolagi - Dazzling Worlds, Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland

2003 Recent Painting, Gow Langsford Gallery, Sydney, Australia
The Wind reminds me how palpable and mythical my life was becoming, Bartley Nees Gallery, Wellington
New Lithographs and Etchings, Paper Graphica Gallery, Christchurch