Koiwi

An honours graduate from New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute in Rotorua, Lyonel trained under master carver John Taiapa. In 1984 he carved the meeting house Matapihi o te Rangi in Tokoroa and Ihenga in Rotorua (1993-96). Since then his work has become more sculptural: it explores the tensions between customary cultural traditions of art located on the marae (gathering place) and contemporary art styles found in the gallery; between modernism and Māori art; between different materials; between substance and space.