Louie Bretaña
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1967 (age 58–59)
Louie Bretaña | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Bretaña in 2025 | |
| Born | Louis Joseph Rivera Bretaña 1967 (age 58–59) Philippines |
| Alma mater | University of Auckland and University of Philippines Diliman |
| Known for | painting, sculpture, performance |
| Notable work | Eat My Rice |
| Style | painting with glitter and glass crystals, figurative sculptures, and performance art |
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 Diliman College of Fine Arts, and moved to New Zealand in 2011.[2][3] 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, including Viaducts Events Centre as part of Aotearoa Art Fair,[6] New Lynn Community Centre,[7] Projectspace Gallery,[8] RM Gallery,[1] and Play_Station.[9] 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.[7] In 2025, Bretaña performed Eat My Rice in Viaducts Events Centre as part of Aotearoa Art Fair, biggest art fair in New Zealand.[10][11]
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,[12] using glitter and glass crystals,[13] but are merged with the local New Zealand context.[14] 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."[15]
In 2024, Bretaña was awarded Artist of the Year, Filipino-Kiwi Hero Awards 2024 for his contribution to the New Zealand's visual arts.[16]
In 2025, University of Auckland's School of Environment has Bretaña's works on permanent display, along with Fiona Pardington and John Reynolds.[17]