Gareth Barlow

The Kākā Convergence looks at the artist’s ongoing series of birds as messengers between our world and other dimensions. Birds sitting on wakahuia or carved wheku, explores Māori philosophies of the spirit world being the primary existence, and our world being a temporary journey. Birds being the connection between the different realms.

This one however, the artist has covered the wheku with leaves as his own journey takes on new life. Exploring more of his own ancestry, the Māori element has been covered as a new season dawns on his practice, and the leaves will fall in that time.

Artist Bio

Gareth Barlow is a contemporary New Zealand artist living in Marlborough.

Working primarily in acrylic and charcoal, Barlow creates large-scale paintings and portraits distinguished by their atmospheric quality and symbolic imagery. Native birds, portraiture, and narratives of connection are recurring elements throughout his practice, reflecting an ongoing interest in identity, belonging, ancestry, and the relationships between people, place, and the natural world. His works often explore states of attentiveness and exchange, inviting reflection on how presence, memory, and story shape human experience.

Alongside his painting practice, Barlow has spent many years engaging with the histories, stories, and artistic traditions of Aotearoa. His work reflects a sustained interest in narrative systems and ways of understanding the world, including Māori pūrākau and his own Celtic heritage, approached as distinct but intersecting cultural frameworks.

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