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Profile:
Mathias Kauage O.B.E.
(Papua New Guinea) |
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Tupela Helikopta ..(Two Helicopters)
1997, Acrylic on Canvas, 120 cm x 112 cm.
This piece is for sale, from the October Gallery,
for £ 650.00
Mathias Kauage is the best-known and longest established of the PNG artists who since the time of Independence have been painting in a contemporary style. A day-labourer from the Highlands he visited the first-ever art exhibition by a Papua New Guinean artist (Timothy Akis) in the late Sixties and struck by what he saw there decided that he could do equally well - if not better. After meeting Georgina Beier (the British-born artist/educator who had originally encouraged Akis) Kauage went on to study under her supervision, and within a year had indeed produced a sufficient body of work to hold his own exhibition. He never looked back, and was so successful that many others imitated his distinctive style - to the extent that a whole "school" of imitators sprang up around him. Often copied, therefore but never bettered he continues to be the only PNG artist with a major international reputation and following. After meeting Queen Elizabeth II in 1994 he presented her with a picture that he had painted showing himself and 'Queenie' meeting. The gift was accepted and the compliment returned when, in 1998, Kauage was awarded the Order of the British Empire.
The above picture shows a typically inventive treatment of helicopters by Kauage. The pidgin inscription reads "Tupela helikopta bisi long karim Gol na Kai Kai igo kam Long Porgera" which can be translated as 'Two helicopters busy carrying gold and food to and from Porgera (a mining camp in the PNG highlands.)