Wi Taepa

Wi Te Tau Pirika Taepa ONZM (Te Arawa, Ngāti Whakaue, Te Āti Awa, b.1946) is a master of Māori clay art, with a career spanning over 30 years.

Taepa has been at the forefront of promoting uku, the medium of clay, within te ao Māori since the mid 1980’s and is celebrated for his unique practice - his works predominantly hand built using coil, slab or pinch pot techniques.

The artist has exhibited widely both nationally and internationally, including Īnakinaki: The art of Wi Taepa and Kristin O'Sullivan Peren, Curated by Gina Matchitt, Te Aramira Gallery, Frankton, Queenstown (2024); He Tonu Tēnā Pea It Is Perhaps A Sign – Group Exhibition, Sarjeant Gallery Whanganui (2023); Toi Tū Toi Ora: Contemporary Māori Art, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, (2020) and a retrospective solo exhibition at Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki (2018). 

In 2022 Taepa was a recipient of the Platinum Jubilee Queen’s Birthday Honours and was appointed as an Officer of the Order (ONZM) for his services to Māori art, particularly ceramics.

Taepa first showed his work at Sanderson in 2019, alongside Simon Kaan and Jon Tootill. In 2021, Taepa introduced a new suite of ceramics in Te Hā o te Marama, an exhibition presented in collaboration with Simon Kaan. Most recently Taepa has presented Maumahara alongside Simon Kaan at Sanderson Contemporary in 2022, Te Au in 2023 and Nohoaka toi ki Puketeraki in 2024.

Taepa’s works are held in the collections of Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Pōneke Wellington, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, The Arts House Trust, Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, Te Manawa Museum, Palmerston North Te Papa-i-Oea, Te Whare o Rehua Sarjeant Gallery, Whanganui and Pātaka Art Museum, Porirua, Aotearoa.

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