Fatu Feu'u

Fatu Akelei Feu'u (born 1946) is a noted Samoan painter from the village of Poutasi in the district of Falealili in Samoa. He has established a reputation as the elder statesman of Pacific art in New Zealand.

Biography Feu'u emigrated to New Zealand in 1966 after growing up in the village of Poutasi, Western Samoa.

Feu'u has been an exhibiting artist since the early 1980s and became a full-time artist in 1988, prior to that he worked as a designer and colour advisor for textile and car companies. In 2022 he received the Senior Pacific Artist Award at the Creative New Zealand Arts Pasifika Awards. Feu'u is 'pivotal in shaping the interest in contemporary Pacific art globally and nurturing a generation of Pacific artists locally'. This act of recruitment, mentorship and collectivism was typical of the early beginnings of Fatu’s vision for contemporary Pacific arts. (Dagmar Dyck)

Feu'u's work was included in two groundbreaking exhibitions of contemporary Pacific art: Te Moemoea no Iotefa, curated by Rangihiroa Panaho for the Sarjeant Art Gallery in 1990 and Bottled Ocean curated by Jim Viviaeare, which toured New Zealand in 1994–1995.

In 2007, Marilyn Kohlhase co-founded with Bridget Marsh a pan-Pacific art gallery, Okaioceanikart, on Karangahape Road, Auckland, after an invitation from Feu'u. Okaioceanikart continued to exhibit Feu'u until it closed in 2013.

Feu'u was part of the major group exhibition Le Folauga: the past coming forward – Contemporary Pacific Art from Aotearoa New Zealand, at the Auckland Museum. Le Folauga later toured to Taiwan and became 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 Arts in Taiwan from 13 December 2008 to 5 April 2009.

Feu'u collaborated with Mahiriki Tangaroa in 2024 in an exhibition named Aro'a Alofa in Bergman Gallery, Rarotonga, Cook Islands. Feu'u explained the exhibition is a way of giving back to the Cook Islands and the friends who supported his career, as well as reconnecting with the local community.

Collections Feu'u's work is included in a number of prestigious national and international collections including the National Gallery, Brisbane; Auckland Art Gallery; Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington and Waikato Museum of Art and History, Hamilton. His work is also included in an extensive number of private collections in New Zealand, Australia, United States of America, England, Holland, American Samoa, Samoa and Japan.

Inside the New Zealand Parliament, the entrance to The Pacific Room is designed by Ian George, and the wooden carving was carved by four carvers from the South Pacific, Ian George from Cook Islands, Fatu Feu'u from Samoa, Filipe Tohi from Tonga, and Palalagi Manetoa from Niue, about how Pacific peoples from those islands came to New Zealand and made the new country home.

Public artworks Two large wood and paint sculptures are found in Auckland. Ole Alia outside the Massey Library and Leisure Centre and Unititled marks the entrance to the South Auckland suburb of Ōtara. Feu'u was commissioned in 2007 by the Waitakere City Council to create an artwork representing the Pasifika community of West Auckland. The artwork spent 12 months to create, and was unveiled at the Henderson railway station over-bridge in 2009.

Artistic mediums While primarily a painter, Feu'u explores a range of other mediums including bronze, wood and stone sculpture, pottery design, lithographs, woodcuts and glass works (both stained and etched).

Polynesian influences Feu'u's work is inspired by Polynesian art forms such as siapo (tapa cloth), tatau (tattoo), weaving, carving and ceremonial mask making. In these forms he uses a rich lexicon of motifs and compositional structures. His works frequently blend traditional and contemporary elements, incorporating a range of influences, inspirations, techniques and motifs from Samoa and Aotearoa and more generally from Euro-American to Pacific cultures. In 2005, Tautai celebrated its 10th anniversary as a formalised organisation. Members include other established Pacific artists such as painter and sculptor Johnny Penisula, multi-media artist Shigeyuki Kihara and Michel Tuffery. By 2022 the Tautai Pacific Arts Trust is considered a leading Pacific arts organisation, the director is Aanoalii Rowena Fuluifaga and the premises are on Karangahape Road in Auckland.

New Zealand Arts Icon Award In December 2022 Feu'u was a recipient of the New Zealand Arts Icon Award Whakamana Hiranga, which makes him one of twenty current living cultural icons.

Named after Fatu Feu'u In September 2022, Black Grace, a New Zealand contemporary dance company, performed a piece in United States, and New Zealand named Fatu (Heart), inspired by Feu’u.

In 2023, Fatu Feu’u Pacific Arts Prize, is a scholarship established in University of Auckland, funded by Felicity Barnes and Michael Whitehead, is named after Feu'u to recognise and honour his role as a leader in the Pacific arts community.