Louie Bretaña Explained

Louie Bretaña
Birth Name:Louis Joseph Rivera Bretaña
Birth Place:Philippines
Nationality:Philippines, New Zealand
Known For:painting, sculpture, performance
Notable Works:Eat My Rice
Style:painting with glitter and glass crystals, figurative sculptures, and performance art
Alma Mater:University of Auckland and University of Philippines

Louis Joseph Rivera Bretaña (born 1967) is a Filipino-born New Zealand painter and sculptor with roots in Manila and the Visayan province of Iloilo.[1] [2]

Bretaña graduated with Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of the Philippines College of Fine Arts, and moved to New Zealand in 2011. He subsequently earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts with first-class honours (2018) and a Master of Fine Arts degree (2019) from the Elam School of Fine Arts at the University of Auckland.[3] [4]

Bretaña's work actively challenges Euro-western colonial histories and encouraging a respectful engagement with culture via conversation and interaction.[5]

Bretaña's notable performance piece Eat My Rice was held in multiple locations throughout New Zealand, such as New Lynn Community Centre,[6] Projectspace Gallery,[7] RM Gallery, and Play_Station.[8] Eat My Rice is a reimagining of the Filipino pre-colonial feast, where participants eat the rice with bare hands, food served on banana leaves, and letting go of standards and expectations of Euro-western society.

Pre-Christianity Filipino deities play a major role in Bretaña's paintings and sculptures; they act as a platform for pre-colonial Filipino narratives and mythologies,[9] using glitter and glass crystals,[10] but are merged with the local New Zealand context.[11] In a Radio New Zealand interview, he stated "My works look into stories, myths and legends that I heard in my youth and I then translate them into paintings."[12]

In 2024, Bretaña was awarded Artist of the Year, Filipino-Kiwi Hero Awards 2024 for his contribution to the New Zealand's visual arts.[13]

Selected solo exhibitions

Selected group exhibitions

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Weng . Amy . In Conversation with Louie Bretaña . 2023-09-30 . Hainamana. 27 March 2018 .
  2. News: Hoyle . Craig . 2017-09-17 . Awakening the sleeping dragon could determine the next Government . 2023-09-30 . Stuff.
  3. Web site: Te Uru Waitakere Contemporary Gallery Louie Bretana: Tumingala sa tinitingala na mga tala . 2023-09-30.
  4. Web site: Graduation search results . University of Auckland . 1 October 2023.
  5. Web site: Syokes — Objectspace . 2023-09-30 . www.objectspace.org.nz . en.
  6. Web site: World of Cultures 2023 . 2023-09-30 . worldofcultures.co.nz . en.
  7. Web site: Eat My Rice . 2023-09-30 . elamartists.ac.nz.
  8. Web site: Eat My Rice - Performance Art Week Aotearoa . 2023-09-30 . en-US.
  9. Web site: Matthew . Ricky . Showcasing Artists' Perspectives on Belonging and Cultural Evolution . 2020-09-30 . Filipino News.
  10. Web site: Paris . Blanchard . 2023-07-18 . Finding Home . 2023-09-30.
  11. News: Matthew . Ricky . Showcasing artists' perspectives on belonging and cultural evolution . 2020-09-30 . Migrant News.
  12. Web site: Tom . Blessen . 2023-12-12 . Auckland gallery spotlights Asian artists . 2024-06-14 . RNZ . en-nz.
  13. Web site: Louie Bretaña awarded Artist of the Year . 2024-06-17 . Artnow . en.
  14. Web site: 2024-11-21 . Louie Bretaña, In Someone to Watch Over Me . 2024-11-29 . Art News Aotearoa . en-GB.
  15. Web site: Louie Bretaña, Franklin Arts Centre Artsdiary 3503 . 2023-09-30 . www.artsdiary.co.nz.
  16. Web site: halonz . 2020-01-14 . 'Blessed Art Thou' Exhibition Halo Halo NZ . 2023-09-30 . en-NZ.
  17. Web site: Belonging: Stories of Contemporary New Zealand Asian Artists . 2024-06-14 . artguide.artforum.com . en-US.
  18. Web site: Bergman Gallery Aotearoa Art Fair 2024 . 2024-06-14 . Artnow . en.
  19. Web site: A Place To Call Home - Contemporary New Zealand Asian Art . 2023-09-30 . artguide.artforum.com . en-US.
  20. Web site: Ponsonby News - New Zealand . 2023-09-30 . ponsonbynews.co.nz . en-GB.
  21. Web site: Oasis/Respite 2.0 Corban Estate Arts Centre . 2023-09-30 . ceac.org.nz.
  22. Web site: "Pride & Prejudice Part 1" at Bergman Gallery Artsdiary 3872 . 2023-09-30 . artsdiary.co.nz.
  23. Web site: 2021-05-07 . We Can Do Something Monumental’: How to be One in a Billion . 2024-06-14 . The Big Idea.
  24. Web site: "Showcase" Fresh Gallery Ōtara Artsdiary 3257 . 2024-06-14 . artsdiary.co.nz.

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