Tangaroa Birch

Tangaroa Birch

Tangaroa Birch (b. 1976 Ngāpuhi, Ngāi Tawake, Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Rakaipaaka) is a Māori artist known for his innovative practice, Painting With Light, where carving and etching create reflective surfaces that capture and refract light into shifting colour, and movement. His works draw from Māori spiritualism and his upbringing in the moana—echoing ripples, tides, maramataka, and kōrero tuku iho from his whānau’s East Coast and Taitokerau connections. Birch’s practice also reflects on the political, social, and economic realities of Māori in Aotearoa.

He holds a Master of Māori Visual Arts from Massey University, where he formerly lectured in the Toioho ki Āpiti programme. Birch is currently leading a major new Civic Precinct project in Ahuriri–Napier while exhibiting nationally and internationally. He is represented by Martin Browne Contemporary, Milford Gallery, and Foenander Gallery.