Manos Nathan
"As a Maori clayworker I have a rich heritage of allegory and metaphor to draw on as a cultural template - a foundation and springboard from which to reinterpret and develop an identity for the non-customary medium of clay."
Manos Nathan was born in Rawene, Hokianga, in 1948. His tribal affliations are to Te Roroa, Ngati Whatua and Nga Puhi.
He works out of his home studio/workshop in Dargaville and Ahi-ka-roa workshop and kiln, at Matatina Marae in the Waipoua forest.
As a foundation member and former Chairperson of Te Atinga, the Contemporary Maori Visual Arts Committee of Toi Maori Aotearoa, Nathan has been active in the promotion of contemporary Maori art for many years.
A Fulbright Award in 1989 lead to a visit, together with colleague Baye Riddell, to the Pueblo and Hopi potters of the Southwest states of the USA. This was the first of numerous cultural exchanges with indigenous peoples of the Pacific, the USA, Canada, Australia and most recently Japan, in which he has been involved.
Nathan has exhibited extensively both in New Zealand and overseas and his works are found in a number of public and private collections worldwide including the British Museum, Museum of Scotland, Burke Museum, Seattle, USA and Te Papa Tongarewa in Wellington.
In June 2002 he was awarded “Te Ara Whakarei”, the honorary user status for the toi iho™ Maori made mark.
Artist statement
Among the customary art forms of the Maori, there was no tradition of ceramic art. However the cosmological/creation narratives include the origions of clay, ochre, fire and water; all are elements required for the fashioning of ceramic works.
"In my efforts to create an identity/profile for works in clay, I have adapted design and symbolism from the customary art forms of wood, stone and bone carving; from ta moko and from the fibre arts of ta niko and tukutuku. I have also drawn on the rich heritage of allegory and metaphor found in pakiwaitara, purakau and pepeha (folklore, myths/legends and proverbs) as a source of inspiration for the creation of Maori clayworks."
View gallery of Artwork by Manos Nathan
Public collections
Auckland Museum: Tamaki Paenga Hira
Burke Museum, University of Washington, Seattle, U.S.A.
British Museum, Museum of Mankind, U.K.
Dowse Art Museum, Lower Hutt, New Zealand
Museum Fur Volkerkunder, Berlin, Germany
Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh, U.K.
Te Papa Tongarewa Museum of New Zealand, Wellington, New Zealand
Selected exhibitions
2006 - Mini Masterworks. Spirit Wrestler Gallery, Vancouver, B.C. Canada
2006 - Manawa: Pacific Heartbeat. Spirit Wrestler Gallery, Vancouver, B.C. Canada
2005 - Crafted By Design. Lopdell House Gallery, Auckland
2005 - Maori Art Meets America - Art from the Maori People of New Zealand. Yerba Buena Centre for the Arts, San Francisco, USA
2005 - Nga Toko Rima: Contemporary Maori Clayworks. Tinakori Gallery, Wellington
2004 - Whenua: born of the land. Tinakori Gallery, Wellington
2003/05 - Nga Toko Rima: Contemporary Clayworks. Te Papa Tongarewa Museum of New Zealand, Wellington
2003 - Kiwa: Pacific Connections. Spirit Wrestler Gallery, Vancouver, B.C. Canada
2002 – Taiawhio - continuity and change. Te Papa Tongarewa Museum of New Zealand, Wellington
2000 - New Sculpture. Milford Galleries, Auckland
1999 - Whata Ra te Toi Tangata. Suter Gallery, Nelson
1999 - Fusion: Tradition and Discovery. Spirit Wrestler Gallery, Vancouver, B.C. Canada
1998 - Maori: Maori Arts in the British Museum, U.K.
1998 - Uku Uku Uku, Maori Clayworkers Exhibition. New Zealand International Festival of Arts, Wellington
1998 - He Puaawaitanga Whakaaro: Recent Maori Sculpture. Govett Brewster Gallery, New Plymouth
1997 - New Zealand Today: Maori Viewpoints. John Royal Gallery, New York and Chicago, U.S.A.
1997 - Te Atinga: Contemporary Maori Arts. Bath International Arts Festival, U.K.
1996 - Patua. New Zealand International Festival of the Arts, City Gallery, Wellington
1996 - Kurawaka. Dowse Art Museum, Lower Hutt
1994 - Te Waka Toi, touring exhibition of comtemporary Maori Art. San Diego, Phoenix, Chicago, Seattle, Hawaii, U.S.A.; Auckland, Wellington, New Zealand
Publications
- Te Puna: Maori Art from Te Tai Tokerau Northland. Deidre Brown, Ngarino Ellis (Ed). Reed Publishing NZ Ltd, 2007
- Taiawhio II: Contemporary Maori Artists. Huhana Smith (Ed.). Te Papa Press, 2007
- Manawa: Pacific Heart Beat – Celebration of Contemporary Maori and Northwest Coast Art. Spirit Wrestler Gallery, Vancouver, Canada. Published in New Zealand by Reed Publishing, 2006
- Crafted by Design: Inside the New Zealand Craft Artist’s Studio. Jeanette Cook and Stephen Robinson. Random House, 2005
- He Kete He Korero – every kete has a story. Toi Te Rito Maihi and Maureen Lander. Reed Publishing, 2005
- Contemporary New Zealand Sculpture - themes and issues. Priscilla Pitts. David Bateman Ltd, 1998
- 100 New Zealand Craft Artists. Helen Schamroth. Godwit Press, 1998
- Mataora - the living face - contemporary Maori art. Sandy Adsett, Witi Ihimaera, and Cliff Whiting. David Bateman Ltd, 1996
Major comissions
- APEC Leaders Gift, Prime Ministers Advisory Group for Art and Culture - ceramic vessel
- Auckland City Central Library - develop kaupapa for artworks - design for glass and aluminium
- Covered Walkways, Porirua City - Urban Renewal Project - sculptural commission
- New Zealand Department of Justice, Waitangi Tribunal, Seabridge House, Wellington - carving and ceramics
- Whangarei Art Museum - ceramic sculpture
Links
Craft Culture article by Moyra Elliot Manos Nathan : CERAMICS
Manos Nathan is a toi iho registered artist
Pataka Museum of Art and Culture