Bio
Sefton Rani works out of Piha, Auckland and describes himself as a maker who uses paint as his material of choice to create modern Pacific art.
Rani is of Cook Island heritage through his father, and his work enables him to explore his “Pacificness”. He refers to completed works as “industrial tapa” which is influenced by the marks and forms of traditional tapa, carving, tattoo, weaving and tivaevae.
His work is primarily created with solidified paint skins which he uses to investigate the materiality of paint. These skins are collaged or simply allowed to float on the wall as an object. Sefton’s time spent working in a paint factory is a key reason for using this unusual material. It is in this environment he saw Pacific Island people working in manual jobs to support their families. Factories had become the new plantations of the Pacific people transplanted into this new urban environment and his work focuses on doing justice to the fact that labour is also a material with value.
Rani is represented by Scott Lawrie Gallery in Auckland.
Sefton Rani works out of Piha, Auckland and describes himself as a maker who uses paint as his material of choice to create modern Pacific art.
Rani is of Cook Island heritage through his father, and his work enables him to explore his “Pacificness”. He refers to completed works as “industrial tapa” which is influenced by the marks and forms of traditional tapa, carving, tattoo, weaving and tivaevae.
His work is primarily created with solidified paint skins which he uses to investigate the materiality of paint. These skins are collaged or simply allowed to float on the wall as an object. Sefton’s time spent working in a paint factory is a key reason for using this unusual material. It is in this environment he saw Pacific Island people working in manual jobs to support their families. Factories had become the new plantations of the Pacific people transplanted into this new urban environment and his work focuses on doing justice to the fact that labour is also a material with value.
Rani is represented by Scott Lawrie Gallery in Auckland.
Extended Media
Exhibitions
2023 Upcoming
May 20 - solo show, Scott Lawrie Gallery, Auckland
September 12 - solo show, PG Gallery 192, Christchurch
2022
Epilogue - A Group Show, Scott Lawrie Gallery
Xmas'22, group show, PG Gallery 192
[Windows into] Modern Pacific Art, group show, Northart Gallery
Aotearoa Art Fair, The Cloud, Auckland
[Moana Artists], group show, Scott Lawrie Gallery
The Fall of Rome, group show, Scott Lawrie Gallery
The Big Boys, group show, West Coast Gallery
The Ripple Effect, solo show, The Wharf Gallery
SENSATION_22 group show, Scott Lawrie Gallery
Heterodox Us, group show, The New Zealand Steel Gallery, Franklin Arts Centre
Fugitive Pigment, solo show, West Coast Gallery
Industrial Plantations, solo show, Scott Lawrie Gallery
2021
Tent 2021, group show, Scott Lawrie Gallery (online)
Spring Selection 2021, group show, PG Gallery 192
Silence is the Flower, solo show, PG Gallery 192
The Scent of Two Lands, group show, Arthaus Contemporary Gallery
Te Tai-o-Rēhua (The Tasman), group show, Scott Lawrie Gallery
#Paint, solo show, Arthaus Contemporary
Ara-nui-a-Toi : The Great Road of Toi, solo show, Wallace Gallery Morrinsville
Corbans Barrel Store Pop Up Exhibition, group show, Corbans Estate
Open Channels, group show, Miranda Gallery
Industrial Tapa, solo show, Depot Artspace
2020
Christmas Show, group show, West Coast Gallery
Urban Tapa 2.0, solo show, Studio One - Toi Tu
Art in Lockdown, group show, West Coast Gallery
Urban Tapa, solo show, Lake House Arts
Poetry is the Drum, solo show, Arthaus Contemporary Gallery
Urbanised Tapa, solo show, Franklin arts Centre
2019
Industrial Haiku, solo show, Arthaus Contemporary Gallery
2017
Medicine Mondiale, group show, Webbs Auction House
2023 Upcoming
May 20 - solo show, Scott Lawrie Gallery, Auckland
September 12 - solo show, PG Gallery 192, Christchurch
2022
Epilogue - A Group Show, Scott Lawrie Gallery
Xmas'22, group show, PG Gallery 192
[Windows into] Modern Pacific Art, group show, Northart Gallery
Aotearoa Art Fair, The Cloud, Auckland
[Moana Artists], group show, Scott Lawrie Gallery
The Fall of Rome, group show, Scott Lawrie Gallery
The Big Boys, group show, West Coast Gallery
The Ripple Effect, solo show, The Wharf Gallery
SENSATION_22 group show, Scott Lawrie Gallery
Heterodox Us, group show, The New Zealand Steel Gallery, Franklin Arts Centre
Fugitive Pigment, solo show, West Coast Gallery
Industrial Plantations, solo show, Scott Lawrie Gallery
2021
Tent 2021, group show, Scott Lawrie Gallery (online)
Spring Selection 2021, group show, PG Gallery 192
Silence is the Flower, solo show, PG Gallery 192
The Scent of Two Lands, group show, Arthaus Contemporary Gallery
Te Tai-o-Rēhua (The Tasman), group show, Scott Lawrie Gallery
#Paint, solo show, Arthaus Contemporary
Ara-nui-a-Toi : The Great Road of Toi, solo show, Wallace Gallery Morrinsville
Corbans Barrel Store Pop Up Exhibition, group show, Corbans Estate
Open Channels, group show, Miranda Gallery
Industrial Tapa, solo show, Depot Artspace
2020
Christmas Show, group show, West Coast Gallery
Urban Tapa 2.0, solo show, Studio One - Toi Tu
Art in Lockdown, group show, West Coast Gallery
Urban Tapa, solo show, Lake House Arts
Poetry is the Drum, solo show, Arthaus Contemporary Gallery
Urbanised Tapa, solo show, Franklin arts Centre
2019
Industrial Haiku, solo show, Arthaus Contemporary Gallery
2017
Medicine Mondiale, group show, Webbs Auction House