Robyn Kahukiwa, Ngati Porou, was born 1938 in Australia - but conceived in Aotearoa. She and her family returned to New Zealand in 1959.
Since her first exhibition in Wellington in 1971, Robyn has created a significant body of paintings along with prints, drawing and sculpture.
In the words of her colleagues, Robyn 'paved the way' for her generation of Mäori artists. Her work celebrates controversial socio-cultural issues that are central to the Mäori experience in New Zealand but equally relevant to indigenous peoples elsewhere in the world.
Her exhibition Wahine Toa: Women in Mäori myth toured by the Art Gallery Directors' Council in 1984, was the most significant touring exhibition by a Mäori artist to date.
She has works in all major public galleries in New Zealand and internationally. In 2005 Reed Publishing (NZ) Ltd published The Art of Robyn Kahukiwa.