Michel Tuffery

Renowned as a printmaker, painter and sculptor, Michel Tuffery has gained both national and international recognition, and has made a major contribution to the New Zealand/Pacific contemporary art scene.

In 2008 he was honoured with becoming the youngest recipient of a member of the New Zealand Merit of Order (M.N.Z.M) in the Queen's Honour's list for service to the arts.

His creative output is expansive. He is adept at all arts media and works collaboratively with technicians and other art practitioners to realise his performance and installation projects.

The Bull created from corn beef tin cans is one of Tuffery’s signature pieces. A bull of tins, tinned beef, a major dietary staple for Pacific peoples - the simple pun almost denies the complexity of a sculpture imbued with the task of integrating social commentary with environmental critique.

Tuffery Bulls also provide wider context, questioning the knowledge discarded by the new economy the bull symbolized and voices the artists concerns on the impact of introduced species into fragile island eco-systems. Michel Tuffery lives and works in Wellington, NZ.

Public Collections: Museum of New Zealand, Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington; British Maritime Museum, London; The National Gallery of Australia (NGA), Canberra; The Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane, Australia; The Auckland Art Gallery, Auckland, NZ; The Sydney Maritime Museum, Sydney, Australia; The Frankfurt Art Museum, Germany; The Christchurch Art Gallery, Christchurch, NZ; The Machida Museum, Japan; Pataka Museum, Wellington, NZ.

Michel Tuffery selected exhibitions: First Contact, The VOLTA Art Fair, NYC (2012); Povi Vasa, Campbell Town Arts Centre, Sydney (2012);  Oceania, City Gallery/Te Papa, Wellington (2011), Siamani Samoa, Pataka Museum, Wellington, NZ (2011-12); Niu Warrior, Casula Powerhouse, Sydney, Australia (2011); Siamani Samao, Le Manumea Hotel, Apia, Samoa (2011); First Contact Ambient, Sydney, Australia (2011); MANUIA, The American Indian Community House/BCA, New York (2010); Art in the Contemporary Pacific – The Great Journey, Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts, Taiwan(2009); Le Folauga, Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts, Taiwan (2008 – 2009); Pasifika Styles, University of Cambridge Museum, UK (2006 -2008); Tangata o le Moana, Museum of NZ - Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington, NZ (2007 – 2017); Across Oceans and Time, Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts, Taiwan (2007); Dateline, NBK Gallery, Berlin (2007); News from Islands, Campbelltown Art Gallery, Sydney, Australia (2007); Le Folauga - The past coming forward, Auckland Museum (2007); New Zealand Contemporary Landscapes, The Arthouse, Singapore (2005); Landscapes & Beyond , Amelia Johnson Contemporary Gallery, Hong Kong (2005); Paradise Now? Asia Society Museum, New York, USA (2004); Bottled Ocean, curated by Jim Vivieaere, City Art Gallery, Wellington, (1994). 

www.micheltuffery.co.nz

Also see: http://www.sydneyfestival.org.au/2011/All-Events/First-Contact-Michel-Tuffery-Festival-First-Night/