1. Raymond Henry "Sandy" Adsett was born on 27 August 1939 and is a New Zealand visual artist and educator.
18 Facts About Sandy Adsett
1. 2.
Sandy Adsett is acknowledged for championing the art of kowhaiwhai painting, creating a context for the artform within the development of contemporary Maori art.
3.
Sandy Adsett was born in Raupunga near Wairoa on 27 August 1939.
4.
Sandy Adsett received his first formal art training at Ardmore Teachers' College in Auckland.
5.
Sandy Adsett completed his third year of teachers' college in Dunedin.
6.
Sandy Adsett was one of a group of teachers that started this work in the 1960s.
7.
In 1961, Sandy Adsett became an arts specialist for the Department of Education's Advisory Service, within a programme established by educational leader Gordon Tovey.
8.
Sandy Adsett has cited the mentorship of the Ngati Porou master carver Pine Taiapa as the most significant influence on his life as an artist and educator.
9.
In 1991, Sandy Adsett became a principal tutor at Tairawhiti Polytechnic in Gisborne, working in the Toihoukura School of Maori Visual Arts.
10.
Sandy Adsett took over from Ivan Ehau, the founder of the school, who had died that year.
11.
Sandy Adsett was involved in formatting a wananga arts direction for the progamme.
12.
In 2002, Sandy Adsett returned to Hawke's Bay, where he set up the Toimairangi School of Maori Visual Culture within Te Wananga o Aotearoa in Hastings.
13.
Sandy Adsett continues to work there as an adjunct professor.
14.
In 2021 a major retrospective of Sandy Adsett's work was organised by Pataka Art + Museum, curated by Reuben Friend.
15.
In 2024 Sandy Adsett's 1978 painting Waipuna was included in the exhibition Stranieri Ovunque, Foreigners Everywhere curated by Adriano Pedrosa for the 60th international exhibition at the Venice Biennale.
16.
In 2014, Sandy Adsett was conferred an honorary doctorate by Massey University, and he received Te Tohu o Te Papa Tongarewa Rongomaraeroa award in the 2018 Te Waka Toi Awards.
17.
In 2020, Sandy Adsett was named as an Arts Foundation of New Zealand Icon, an honour limited to 20 living New Zealanders.
18.
Sandy Adsett's work is held in public gallery collections throughout Aotearoa New Zealand, including:.