Martin Poppelwell was born in Hawke’s Bay in 1969 and currently resides in Napier.

He studied at Otago University, and at the Elam School of Fine Arts, Auckland University until 1991. His practice has a visual language all of its own – graphic, illustrative and humorous he extends this across drawing, painting, pottery, printmaking and installation work. His pots begin as an exploration of the every day but push well beyond functionality. They inform his painting, sometimes creating a fascinating conversation between the two. Language and colour also offer a playful tongue-in-cheek casualness that reflects contemporary life, and dissolve quite knowingly some of the boundaries we might feel around art.

Recent exhibitions and projects include: ‘Making Animal’, SPA_CE gallery, Napier. ‘medium to large works and small acts’, Jonathan Smart Gallery, Christchurch. Sydney Contemporary, Sydney, day01 Gallery. Spring 1883, Melbourne, Jonathan Smart Gallery ‘the ones i’ve finished’, day01 Gallery Sydney & ‘giddy up’, Melanie Roger Gallery, Auckland