Year: 2025

Exploring the interconnectedness of whakapapa through art, Maioha Kara’s work draws on both personal legacy and broader cultural narratives. Currently featured in a solo exhibition at Hastings City Art Gallery, Maioha discusses how she uses materials like timber and glitter to honour her father’s legacy, reflect on Māori cosmology, and explore the rhythmic energy of te taiao. Speaking with Aotearoa Art Fair, she shares insights into her creative process, her ongoing evolution as an artist, and what she hopes visitors will take from the exhibition.

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Through your practice you explore interconnectedness. Can you explain how this concept shapes the way you approach your work and materials?

The concept of interconnectedness is almost incomprehensible, I often use whakapapa as a conceptual gateway as it provides a gentle way in. In terms of materials and making, my father is a pukenga toi (an expertly skilled arts practitioner) so it was natural for me to reach for timber when it came to making work (I have used timber for more than seven years now). Working with this material not only connects me with my Dad, but of course timber is also a living material that embodies a sense of time and interconnectedness. Glitter is the other pronounced material in my work, employed to suggest our cosmological link to te whānau marama. I like to consider the ira (spots) across the surface of my work as vessels of light energy or mauri.

 

Image: In Good Relation: Maioha Kara, Māhanga, 2023, Te Whare Toi o Heretaunga Hastings Art Gallery

How does your father’s artistic practice influence your own, and in what ways do you see your work as a continuation or evolution of his legacy?

Being from Rotorua, where it is accepted that wāhine Māori don’t carve, it wasn’t something I actively considered as a possibility for myself. When I began art school however it wasn’t long before I became interested in working into the surface and surprisingly, I didn’t consider it to be a sculptural intervention. All my life I have been surrounded by whakairo and sculptural objects, a normalised privilege largely due to my Dad. Retrospectively the influence of his work (and other members of our whānau) is so abundantly clear when I look at my own work and in this way, I see my work as an evolution of his legacy. My father is incredibly adept in his work, I hold it as my personal standard of excellence.

We’re excited to share insights from Pip England, Chief Executive Partner of Chapman Tripp, into his journey as an art collector and the influences that have shaped his eclectic collection. From early inspirations to his approach of buying what he loves, Pip reflects on the evolving nature of his collection and offers advice for first-time collectors. Chapman Tripp is the presenting partner of Horizons, a new sector aimed at supporting early career artists at the Aotearoa Art Fair 2025.

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What made you want to start collecting art?

For me, there were two key influences. Firstly, my parents – who loved art and took me to galleries in New Zealand and offshore when I was young. I was very fortunate as a teenager to meet Toss Woollaston with my parents at his Riwaka studio, near Nelson, after they had bought a watercolour and I had bought my first real artwork (a pencil sketch nude). Toss apparently wanted to meet the 17-year-old Kiwi boy who would spend money on art.

Image: Toss Wollaston, Nude, 1977

Another key influence was Jonathan Smart, my art teacher at high school. He was so passionate and knowledgeable about art, and made it very approachable and interesting. I would have loved to be an artist myself, but (through no fault of Jonathan!!) I have settled for being an art collector. I have continued to see Jonathan at the Art Fair and in Christchurch. It was Jonathan who introduced me to Michael Parekowhai, selling me a Rainbow Servant Dreamer.

Image: Michael Parekowhai, Rainbow Servant Dreaming, 2005

How has your approach to collecting evolved over time?

Our collection is eclectic. We buy what we love. Sometimes I buy something without telling my wife. As a result, we now have a designated room at home with a number of these works that she would rather hadn’t joined our collection. It’s fair to say they’re not highly visible. I am quite comfortable now that not everyone will love every piece (sometimes including my wife), but as long as it provokes discussion, it’s worth getting, in my view.

Is there a focus in artists in your collection? Are you more interested in emerging or well-known artists?

We don’t have a particular ‘focus’. We have tended to buy New Zealand artists – but not necessarily the well-known or ‘popular’ artists. We have never bought a work because everyone else is buying that artist or because people are saying we ‘should’ buy a particular artist. Nor do we just buy from one gallery. We have bought from a number of galleries over the years.

When we were younger, I set a $15,000 cap for any work. So, that tended to mean we were more often looking at emerging artists. I remember negotiating on a Pule re-sale purely because I couldn’t breach my (arbitrary) cap. Luckily, the gallery owner understood my completely irrational thinking perfectly. I still love the Pule – even more because we had missed some (rather rude) writing on the work that was first spotted by my mother-in-law. Again, it provoked ‘discussion’!

Image: John Pule, Red Cloud, 2003

What advice would you give to someone looking to make their first purchase at the Aotearoa Art Fair?

Make sure you truly love the work. Don’t buy it because you know the name of the artist and think you should. And ideally, make sure your better half also likes the work. It does make life easier.

What is your favourite piece in your collection and why?

That is hard. It depends on my mood, and what I have been thinking about – people, places, events, etc. Right now, my favourite work is a Todd Hunter work we bought from Fox Jensen. It is an amazing, evocative work – but more importantly, was bought for us by a good friend who is not well, so it is very special because of the connection with her. Over the summer break, I was lucky to spend a lot of time staring at a beautiful Gretchen Albrecht that mirrored the blues of the sea and sky off Waiheke.

Image: Gretchen Albrecht, Blue Surge (White Light), 2014

Image: Todd Hunter, We’ll take that ride, 2023.

Was there a piece of art that got away?

Many. But the most unusual was an early Peter Robinson work that I had seen at Peter McLeavey’s gallery in the late 90s. Olivia McLeavey had shown it to me from the stock room. I then rang – on mobile (a mistake, I later found out) – to confirm I wanted to purchase the work. Peter refused to sell it to me until I had proven I was not a yuppie with a mobile and actually appreciated art. I eventually got him over the line. He put the Robinson on the wall (balanced on two pins…) to show me the work. It fell and cracked the edge of the work, rendering it unsellable. I didn’t get my Robinson until many years later when Peter sold me a Big Al Kaida work (which we still own and love).

Image: Peter Robinson, Big Al Kaida, 2002. 

Learn more about Chapman Tripp at chapmantripp.com