Alcheringa Gallery
665 Fort Street
Victoria, BC, Canada
TEL: (250) 383-8224
FAX: (250) 383-9399
email alcheringa
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 Mathias Kauage
Miugu Village, Simbu Province,
Mathias Kauage is PNG's best known artist. In 1998, he was honoured with an O.B.E. by Queen Elizabeth for his contributions to contemporary Papua New Guinean art. A painting he presented to the Queen now hangs in Buckingham Palace.
Born in Miugu Village in the highlands of Simbu Province, Kauage migrated to Port Moresby in 1968 and found work as a maintenance worker. He probably would have remained in that position had he not happened to attend the opening of Timothy Akis's first exhibition at the University. Kauage was so impressed that he approached Australian artist Georgina Beier with a few simple drawings and told her he wanted to become an artist. Although she was uncertain about his talents, Beier nevertheless was impressed by his perseverance and encouraged him to keep working until his lively witty style developed its full exuberance.
Admitted to the National Arts School in 1972, Kauage began exhibiting regularly and his lively drawings of modern technology and life in town made his work popular with expatriates and the new PNG elite. As Kauage's success and fame grew, he received many government commissions as well as many invitations to exhibit his work in Europe, Africa, and Australia. His best known works include figures he designed for the mosaic façade of the new PNG Parliament House as well as a series of images he made of the death of Highland leader Iambakey Okuk, which now hang in the National Gallery of Australia. However, Kauage's colorful imagery has also been selected for book covers, stamps, and covers of magazines, including the July edition of Australia's Art Monthly. Mathias Kauage died in May, 2003 at the age of sixty-six, but the vibrant legacy of his art continues in the work of his adopted son Apa Hugo and his brother-in-law John Siune.
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Pieces by Mathias Kauage:
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