JOHN PULE

Selected Biography

John Puhiatau Pule was born in 1962 in Liku, Niue and lives and works in Auckland, New Zealand. Since 1991 John Pule has exhibited extensively throughout New Zealand, Australia, Europe, USA, the Pacific and Asia. From 1996 to present he has held solo exhibitions at the Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland and Jonathan Smart Gallery, Christchurch and most recently Karen Woodbury Gallery. In 2005 he exhibited at the Galerie Romerapotheke in Zurich.

John Pule's work has been represented in three Asia-Pacific Triennials at the Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane (2006, 2002, 1996), and his painting Tukulagi tukumuitea (forever and ever) (2005) was illustrated on the front cover of the 2006 exhibition catalogue. Other selected group exhibitions include Amanakiaga, Karen Woodbury Gallery, Melbourne (2007); Turbulence, the 3rd Auckland Triennial, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki (2007); Paradise Now!, Asia Society Museum, New York (2004); South Pacific Arts Festival, Belau (2004), New Caledonia (2000), and Samoa (1996); Iki and thanks for all the Ika, Contemporary Arts Centre, Vilnius, Lithuania (2003); People Get Ready, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki, (2000); Wake Naima, Creating Together, Tjibaou Cultural Centre, Noumea (1998); Kwangju Biennale, Korea (1995); Johannesburg Biennale, South Africa (1995); and Bottled Ocean, New Zealand touring exhibition (1994) in addition to being shown in over fifty group exhibitions.

Pule's work is held in numerous public and private collections including the Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane; National Gallery of Australia, Canberra; Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki, Auckland; Te Papa Tongarewa, Museum of New Zealand, Wellington; Te Papa Tongarewa Museum of New Zealand, Wellington, New Zealand; Chartwell Trust Collection, Auckland; Wellington High Court, Wellington; and the National Museum of Scotland, Scotland.

A celebrated author, Pule has completed three novels, including The Shark that Ate the Sun (1992) and Burn my Head in Heaven (1998), as well as being a published poet. In 2000 Pule was the University of Auckland Literary Fellow and in 2002 took up a distinguished visiting writer's residency in the department of English at the University of Hawaii. In 2005 he was awarded an art residency at Roemerapotheke, Basel, Switzerland and in 2004 he was honoured with the prestigious Laureate Award from the Arts Foundation of New Zealand.

Full CV

Essays by Peter Simpson and Doug Hall

Essay by Martin Edmond