Simon Kaan

Sanderson are pleased to announce a new exhibition by Simon Kaan (Kāi Tahu, Kāti Mamoe, Waitaha) and Wi Taepa (Ngāti Pikiao, Te Arawa) ONZM - Nohoaka toi ki Puketeraki 2024. Opening on September 18th the exhibition will present a series of new work by Kaan and Taepa that has been...

Sanderson are pleased to present the exhibition Te Au by Simon Kaan (Waitaha, Kāti Māmoe, KāiTahu) and Wi Taepa (Te Arawa, Ngāti Whakaue, Te Āti Awa) ONZM. The exhibition will span across both gallery spaces and will feature a range of the artists’ works from the past to the present...

Sanderson are pleased to present Maumahara, an exhibition featuring the work of Simon Kaan and Wi Taepa. Kaan and Taepa are two of the most influential senior artists working in ngā toi Māori and Aotearoa today. Kaan (born 1971, Otepoti/Dunedin) is a celebrated painter and print maker. As a third-generation...

Throughout his artistic career spanning 20 years, Kaan has included circular motifs, describing these as “moon gates or moonbows”. This series of work continues the artist’s exploration of the moon, connecting the sky with land and water. He emphasises his thinking into Te Hā o te Marama, the breath of...

Simon Kaan's work show a new direction for the artist, working in washes of coloured ink, the circular landscapes are dreamlike. The works feature Kaan's signature signature iconography and split horizon lines. Jon Tootill’s practice is informed by pattern and colour. Drawing inspiration from raranga (weaving /plaiting), tukutuku (wall-panel weaving)...

Kaan’s work has previously been described as “contemporary and timeless,” a notion that seems to fit well with many of the indigenous relationships referenced in his artmaking. Like Chinese ink and wash works, Kaan’s paintings and prints are not just straightforward reproductions; his work is more of an attempt to...

Born in Sawyers Bay in Dunedin in 1971, Kaan has been working for two decades now, since graduating from the Otago Polytechnic School of Art in 1993. At art school Kaan specialised in printmaking, a practice he was taught by Maori educationalist and printmaker Marilynn Webb and Barry Cleavin, a...

This exhibition brings together the work of Simon Kaan and Jon Tootill, two artists of Ngāi Tahu descent whose bicultural art-based research engages with the unique artistic ecology of Aotearoa. Art’s agency within cultural revival is central to Simon Kaan’s understanding of his position as an artist. Kaan possesses a...

EVENT: Simon Kaan in conversation with Martin Langdon and Lana Lopesi Wednesday 17 August at 6pm | Sanderson Contemporary, Osborne Lane, 2 Kent Street, Newmarket, Auckland As part of his exhibition Black Cloud, Simon Kaan will be joined in conversation by fellow artists Martin Langdon and Lana Lopesi to discuss...

EVENT: Simon Kaan in conversation with Martin Langdon and Lana Lopesi Wednesday August 17th at 6pm | Sanderson Contemporary, Osborne Lane, 2 Kent Street, Newmarket, Auckland As part of his exhibition Black Cloud, Simon Kaan will be joined in conversation by fellow artists Martin Langdon and Lana Lopesi to discuss...

Simon Kaan describes his work as ‘biological landscapes’, animated vistas that piece together a sense of belonging and explore a multi-dimensional sense of self. The images he creates, like the work of the late Ralph Hotere, can be viewed through an allegorical window. Born in Sawyers Bay in Dunedin in...

Simon Kaan describes his work as ‘biological landscapes’, animated vistas that piece together a sense of belonging and explore a multi-dimensional sense of self. The images he creates, like the work of the late Ralph Hotere, can be viewed through an allegorical window. Born in Sawyers Bay in Dunedin in...

Art’s agency within cultural revival is central to Kaan’s understanding of his position as an artist. Kaan possesses a refined visual language developed over decades, intrinsically tied to his sense of personal genealogy being of Ngai Tahu and Chinese descent. His practice considers the implications of the intermingling of the...