Louise Purvis, born Pahiatua, New Zealand, in 1968, completed her Diploma in Design at Waiariki Polytechnic in 1990. After beginning to work as a sculptor, she was awarded Arts Council grants in 1990 and 1992, and exhibited in group and solo shows. She joined Bowen Galleries in 1992. In 1994 Louise won a Commonwealth Fellowship in Arts, and worked and studied in Europe.
Louise has completed a number of large public commissions including: Te Puna Wai Ora, Wellington (2003); Promise boat, Auckland (2004); Catchment, Auckland (2006); Seismic, Wellington; and Land map, I Shou University, Taiwan.
At present she is preparing an exhibition about the land, and events natural and manmade that shape and mark it. 2009 will see - among other projects - her participation in Auckland's Sculpture on the Gulf, and she will continue to collaborate with her local council on a major transport development.