Fatu Feu'u
ONZM
Fatu Feu’u has been pivotal in shaping the interest in contemporary Pacific art globally and nurturing a generation of Pacific artists locally.
In October 2022, Feu’u was awarded the Senior Pacific Artist Award by Creative New Zealand, for his outstanding contribution to art and his role as a leader within the Pacific arts community. During this time, Feu’u had once again joined forces with Specsavers, as Patron for the Fred Hollows Foundation New Zealand. The limited edition frames, inclusive of imagery from his painting, were sold in stores nationwide – each one attributing to the donations given to people affected by cataracs.
In December 2022, Fatu Feu’u received the ICON Award, alongside Dame Jane Campion and Dame Robin White, by the NZ Arts Foundation Te Tumu Toi. In March 2023, Fatu received the Distinguished Alumni Award – Auckland University.
Feu'u grew up in the village of Poutasi, in Western Samoa, immigrating to New Zealand in 1966. Since becoming a full-time artist in 1988, his paintings, woodcut prints, bronze and wooden sculptures are now held in public and private collections around the world. He was the first artist of Pacific heritage awarded the James Wallace Art Award (1995) and the New Zealand Order of Merit for his "Achievements in Art" (2001).
Feu'u gains inspiration from Polynesian art forms, such as siapo (bark/tapa cloth), tatau (tattooing), weaving, carving and ceremonial mask making. His works frequently blend traditional and contemporary elements, incorporating a range of influences, inspirations, techniques and motifs from Samoa and Aotearoa and more generally from Euro-American to Pacific cultures. Feu'u's distinctive style sees him recognised as one of Aotearoa's leading Pacific artists.
Fa'asamoa is the unifying element of Feu'u's work. The term fa'asamoa is generally defined as "the Samoan way". The social structure of Samoan society is held together (and actively maintained) by an adherence to unwritten, but understood cultural conventions.
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Fatu Feu'uAbundance, 2022Mixed media on canvas150 x 169 cm
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Fatu Feu'uAlofa Moni, 2022Acrylic on canvas76 x 101.5 cm
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Fatu Feu'uAMUIA, 2018Acrylic & oils on canvas210 x 521 cm
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Fatu Feu'uAo Aulelei, 2023Mixed media on canvas172.5 x 200 cm
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Fatu Feu'uFa’alogo Mai II, 2021Acrylic on paper99 x 71 cm
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Fatu Feu'uFirst Ritual, 2024Acrylic on stretched canvas101 x 152 cm
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Fatu Feu'uGood Fortune, 2022Acrylic & oils on canvas140 x 183 cm
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Fatu Feu'uIka Fiafia, 2023Acrylic on canvas - wall hanging146 x 181 cm
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Fatu Feu'uLa LeleiBronze37 x 10 cm
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Fatu Feu'uLast Ritual, 2024Acrylic on stretched canvas101 x 152 cm
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Fatu Feu'uMoe Oe Pepe, 2023Acrylic & oil on canvas102 x 76 cm
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Fatu Feu'uOcean Treasure, 2022Acrylic on canvas122 x 149 cm
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Fatu Feu'uOlo Sega, 2021Acrylic & oil pencil on canvas134 x 148 cm
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Fatu Feu'uPacific Conference, 2024Acrylic on stretched canvas102 x 152 cm
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Fatu Feu'uPacific Conference II, 2024Acrylic on stretched canvas150 x 180 cm
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Fatu Feu'uPaleina, 2018Woodcut print75 x 55 cmNZ$2,900.00
Framed -
Fatu Feu'uPiliuli, 2023Acrylic, oil stick & mixed media on canvas159 x 181 cm
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Fatu Feu'uSongs of the Southern Ocean, 2023Mixed media on stretched canvas133 x 172 cm
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Fatu Feu'uTagaloa’s Dream, 2021Acrylic on canvas122 x 122 cm
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Fatu Feu'uThe Golden Age, 2023Acrylic on canvas163 x 165 cm
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Fatu Feu'uUkulele Sway, 2013Wood & iron273 x 70 x 30 cm
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Fatu Feu'uUntitled 1, 2023Acrylic on paper98.5 x 68.5 cm
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Fatu Feu'uVai Manino, 2024Acrylic on stretched canvas150 x 180 cm
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Fatu Feu'uWhite Star, 2022Acrylic on canvas - wall hanging160 x 184 cm
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FATU FEU'U
Vai Manino 28 May - 9 June 2024ARTIS Gallery presents Fatu Feu's Vai Manino - a body of work encompassing the conservation and the impacts of climate change on the Pacific Region. Feu'u is an internationally recognised...Read more -
Aotearoa Art Fair 2024
17 - 22 April 2024 -
Aotearoa Art Fair 2022
STAND A5 16 - 20 November 2022ARTIS Gallery presented three exhibitions over the course of five days at the Aotearoa Art Fair. New Zealand’s premier showcase for contemporary art, held on Wed 16 – Sun 20 Nov 2022 at The Cloud on Auckland’s Queens Wharf. For the Opening Night, Wednesday 16 November, and the first public day on Thursday, 17 November, the Gallery presented works from the estates of John Edgar & Llew Summers. Pivotal works owned by both artists have been made available by the their families to be exhibited on the ARTIS Gallery stand (A5).Read more
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Fatu Feu'u
Abundance 18 October - 10 November 2022For forty years Fatu Feu’u has been the central figure of the contemporary Pacific art movement in Aotearoa New Zealand. Feu’u’s influence has been outstanding at both the national and...Read more -
MANZ - Medal Art New Zealand
A Place to Stand 30 March - 18 April 2021This 2021 biennial exhibition has thirty-one artists presenting medals and /or small sculptures. A diversity is demonstrated in the works that make up this exhibition and is also reflective of...Read more -
Fatu Feu'u
OLA 20 October - 8 November 2020If artists and writers are, as Fatu Feu‘u says, keepers of history and custodians of old stories yearning to be told anew, then he is uniquely qualified for this responsibility....Read more -
Fatu Feu'u
Reconciliation 23 July - 11 August 2019Reconciliation – a new body of work by renowned Samoan artist Fatu Feu’u ONZM, opened on Tuesday 23 July at ARTIS Gallery. Fatu Feu’u ONZM explores motifs of Pacific and...Read more -
Fatu Feu'u
Ole Malaga 24 July - 12 August 2018Fatu Feu’u is a noted New Zealand-based Samoan artist, acknowledged as both a leader and mentor within the Pacific arts community. He is best known as a multi-media artist and...Read more
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This Year's Distinguished Alumni
Fatu Feu'u receives the Distinguished Alumni Award – Auckland University. 28 June 2023Our 2023 Distinguished Alumni Award winners are shining examples of the aspiration, effort, determination and resilience required to ascend a Taumata or summit. Watch the...Read more -
Fatu Feu'u - Icon Award 2022
The Arts Foundation Te Tumu Toi 12 November 2022Established in 2003, Whakamana Hiranga – the Icon Awards are our highest honour, bestowed to a living circle of twenty of New Zealand’s most significant...Read more