Postcards Unlocked #37  |  Chris Van Doren

Chris Van Doren is of Niuean, Samoan and Dutch descent and has been a sculptor for the last twenty years in Auckland and Wellington. Chris is currently the resident at the Pacific Arts Centre at Corban's Estate in West Auckland. Chris has a background in panel beating and uses the skills of his trade to sculpt a variety of mediums such as copper, stainless steel, wood, hard stone and recycled car parts.

While being inspired by the Pacific with its rich cultures in art has always been an important source of inspiration – Chris’s own journey of discovery with the impact of fatherhood, the journey back to Niue and the importance of ancestry and growing up in New Zealand as an artist.

Van Doren has participated in solo and group exhibitions including in the Cook Islands; and has attended numerous sculpture symposiums and workshops in New Zealand and Taiwan. Van Doren has three times been a finalist in the World of Wearable Art Awards. In November 2010, Chris was invited to take part in the Taitung Austronesian Cultural Festival in Taiwan, where he collaborated with indigenous artists from Taiwan, Fiji, Samoa, Tonga and New Caledonia.

For this postcard Chris has assembled images of old and new works to capture his progression over the years of playing with shapes and forms of large and small scale mediums. Chris feels that with this lockdown going on. Now is a great time to sharpen your chisels or grab a hammer and nails and unlock that creative mind.

The 'Postcards Unlocked' Project featured 40 artists over 40 days via Tautai’s social media platforms as we navigated new waters during the 2020 Aotearoa Lockdown.

Learn more about the project here.