Johnny Penisula
Encyclopedia
Johnny Penisula MNZM is a contemporary Samoan
stone sculptor and painter
living in New Zealand
.
Penisula was born in Samoa
and began painting when he was 13 years old. He moved to New Zealand in 1962 and set up home in Invercargill
. He studied art at night classes and began exhibiting as a painter in 1972. As a sculptor, he experimented with a diverse range of sculptural materials including steel, aluminium, fibreglass, bone, argillite, greenstone and limestone before turning to his preferred medium of stone.
His sculptures incorporate both traditional Polynesian
and contemporary patterns, symbols that are significant in Pacific Islands
history and culture.
in Taiwan
from 13 December 2008 to 5 April 2009. Penisula was also part of the official New Zealand delegation of artists participating in the 10th Festival of Pacific Arts
, held in Pago Pago, American Samoa
in 2008.
Penisula says his creative inspiration comes from his Samoan heritage.
Senior Pacific Arts award in recognition of artistic excellence and contribution to the arts. In 2005, he was awarded the Cook Islands
Artist in Residence by Creative New Zealand. In 2007, he was the recipient of the Macmillan Brown Pacific Artist in Residence at the University of Canterbury
. He was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit
(MNZM) in the New Years Honours 2009 for his contribution to the arts and in particular, sculpture.
Samoans
The Samoan people are a Polynesian ethnic group of the Samoan Islands, sharing genetics, language, history and culture. Due to colonialism, the home islands are politically and geographically divided between the country of Samoa, official name Independent State of Samoa ; and American Samoa, an...
stone sculptor and painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
living in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
.
Penisula was born in Samoa
Samoa
Samoa , officially the Independent State of Samoa, formerly known as Western Samoa is a country encompassing the western part of the Samoan Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. It became independent from New Zealand in 1962. The two main islands of Samoa are Upolu and one of the biggest islands in...
and began painting when he was 13 years old. He moved to New Zealand in 1962 and set up home in Invercargill
Invercargill
Invercargill is the southernmost and westernmost city in New Zealand, and one of the southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland region. It lies in the heart of the wide expanse of the Southland Plains on the Oreti or New River some 18 km north of Bluff,...
. He studied art at night classes and began exhibiting as a painter in 1972. As a sculptor, he experimented with a diverse range of sculptural materials including steel, aluminium, fibreglass, bone, argillite, greenstone and limestone before turning to his preferred medium of stone.
His sculptures incorporate both traditional Polynesian
Polynesian culture
Polynesian culture refers to the indigenous peoples' culture of Polynesia who share common traits in language, customs and society. Chronologically, the development of Polynesian culture can be divided into four different historical eras:...
and contemporary patterns, symbols that are significant in Pacific Islands
Pacific Islands
The Pacific Islands comprise 20,000 to 30,000 islands in the Pacific Ocean. The islands are also sometimes collectively called Oceania, although Oceania is sometimes defined as also including Australasia and the Malay Archipelago....
history and culture.
Exhibitions
His work is held in public and private collections, both in New Zealand and internationally, including a civic work in Invercargill’s Wagner Place, commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Treaty of Waitangi. Penisula's work was part of Le Folauga: the past coming forward - Contemporary Pacific Art from Aotearoa New Zealand, the first exhibition of contemporary Pacific art from New Zealand to be shown in a major fine arts museum in Asia. Le Folauga opened at the Kaohsiung Museum of Fine ArtsKaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts
The Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts is located in Gushan District , the northwestern district of Kaohsiung City in Taiwan. It was founded by the Kaohsiung City Government and has been administrated by the Kaohsiung Bureau of Cultural Affairs since 2003. It occupies about and started in 1994...
in Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
from 13 December 2008 to 5 April 2009. Penisula was also part of the official New Zealand delegation of artists participating in the 10th Festival of Pacific Arts
Festival of Pacific Arts
The Festival of Pacific Arts, or Pacific Arts Festival, is a traveling festival hosted every four years by a different country in Oceania . It was conceived by the Secretariat of the Pacific Community as a means to stem erosion of traditional cultural practices by sharing and exchanging culture...
, held in Pago Pago, American Samoa
American Samoa
American Samoa is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the sovereign state of Samoa...
in 2008.
Penisula says his creative inspiration comes from his Samoan heritage.
Awards & Art Residences
In 2002, Penisula received the Creative New ZealandCreative New Zealand
The Arts Council of New Zealand Toi Aotearoa is the national arts development agency of the New Zealand government, investing in artists and arts organisations, offering capability building programmes and developing markets and audiences for New Zealand arts domestically and internationally...
Senior Pacific Arts award in recognition of artistic excellence and contribution to the arts. In 2005, he was awarded the Cook Islands
Cook Islands
The Cook Islands is a self-governing parliamentary democracy in the South Pacific Ocean in free association with New Zealand...
Artist in Residence by Creative New Zealand. In 2007, he was the recipient of the Macmillan Brown Pacific Artist in Residence at the University of Canterbury
University of Canterbury
The University of Canterbury , New Zealand's second-oldest university, operates its main campus in the suburb of Ilam in the city of Christchurch, New Zealand...
. He was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit
New Zealand Order of Merit
The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order established in 1996 "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have rendered meritorious service to the Crown and nation or who have become distinguished by their eminence, talents, contributions or other merits."The order includes five...
(MNZM) in the New Years Honours 2009 for his contribution to the arts and in particular, sculpture.