Ake Lianga (born 1975 on Guadalcanal) is a Solomon Islands screen printer^[1] and painter, who has "gained recognition for paintings and murals throughout Oceania".

^[2]

After schooling, Lianga became self-employed as a sign painter and mural artist. In 1995, he won the South Pacific Contemporary Art Competition.^[3]

In 1996, he won the Commonwealth Arts and Crafts award for painting,^[4] and began studying at North Island College in Canada. He graduated in Fine Arts in 1999.^[5] During his final semester, he was hired by the College to teach printmaking to first year students.^[3] He married in 2001^[5] and, as of 2007, lives in Canada.^[6]

His work was exhibited at the Comox Valley Art Gallery in 1998, at the Alcheringa Gallery in 2001,^[5] and at the Washington State University's Department of Fine Arts in 2007.^[7][8] Lianga's art has also been featured on the cover of the autumn 2004 edition of The Contemporary Pacific.^[5] In 2010, Alcheringa Gallery set up "Pacific Connections, a cross-cultural collaboration featuring Ake Lianga [...] and John Marston, a Coast Salish carver from the Chemainus First Nation".^[2]

Carol Ivory, chair of the Department of Fine Arts at Washington State University, has described Lianga's work as follows:

Lianga looks both backwards and forwards, bringing mythology, history and the contemporary world together in riveting works of art. [...] Lianga's artwork often engages with significant issues arising from post-colonial situations, creating works that can be described as both visually appealing and emotionally powerful.^[6][7]

Lianga was a guest speaker at Washington State University in 2007.^[9]

References

External links

• Lianga's official website Archived 2008-05-10 at the Wayback Machine, with examples of his work
• Examples of Lianga's work exhibited at the Alcheringa Gallery