Artist Profile
Niki is an artist who is constantly pushing his technical ability by crafting pounamu carvings that are impressively complex, with his Manaia and Hei Tiki being prime examples. His designs are influenced by the natural surroundings of the Urewera Ranges, a forested area where he grew up. As a teenager, he became interested in carving pounamu and has since built an international career in the art. There is a unique, almost fluid aesthetic seen throughout all of Niki’s work, which when paired with his drive to produce complex carvings, sees him as one of New Zealand’s foremost jade artists.
