Selwyn Muru

Muru was born in Te Hāpua, Northland in 1937. He was Māori and affiliated with the iwi, Te Aupōuri and Ngāti Kurī. He was a self-taught artist, although he did receive some instruction from Kāterina Mataira while at Northland College. After a solo exhibition and a feature article in Te Ao Hou, by 1964 Muru had become established as an artist. Muru, poet Hone Tuwhare and artist Para Matchitt founded the Māori Writers and Artists’ Association (Nga Puna Waihanga) in 1973. == Broadcasting ==

In 1967, Muru was appointed assistant to the Head of Programmes, New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation. == Artwork ==

'' (1990), a symbolic entrance to Aotea Square in Auckland, by Selwyn Muru A significant public sculpture by Muru is Waharoa (1990), an entrance gate to Aotea Square in Auckland. Represented are carvings of Tama nui te Ra (God of the Sun), Tangaroa (God of the Sea), Tane Mahuta (God of the Forest), Tawhiri Matea (God of the Elements) and Whetu me te Marama (the crescent moon and stars). In the 1980s Muru's work with recycled timber has been described as a 'leitmotif' or recurrent theme amongst several Māori artists including Ralph Hotere, Para Matchitt and Bruce Stewart by art critic Rangihiroa Panaho. Panaho calls this a re-appropriation. Curator Nigel Borell displayed two of Muru's artworks in the 2022 survey of contemporary Māori art Toi Tū Toi Ora at Auckland Art Gallery – Resurrections of Te Whiti over Taranaki (1975–77) and Te Whiti and Tohu over Taranaki (1975–77), paintings that feature the mountain Taranaki and the Māori leaders Te Whiti o Rongomai and Tohu Kākahi. Collections that hold his work include Te Papa and Auckland Art Gallery. • Contemporary New Zealand Art, Japan and South East Asia (1963) • New Zealand Māori Council exhibition, National Art Gallery, Wellington (1969) • Contemporary Maori Art, Waikato Museum of Art and History, Hamilton (1976) • Kohia ko Taikaka Anake, National Art Gallery, Wellington (1990) • Te Waka Toi: Contemporary Maori Art, (tour to the United States) (1992) • Toi Tū Toi Ora: Contemporary Māori Art, Auckland Art Gallery (Sat 5 December 2020 – Sun 9 May 2021) == References ==