Artist Profile: Rhys Hall

Artist Profile: Rhys Hall

Recently, while perusing the Tiki Central forums, I came across the impressive carvings of New Zealand artist Rhys Hall. Apparently, Rhys was scoping me out too, as our correspondence began with his asking about my Easter Island travelogue.



When you think Rhys, think tiny. What first attracted me to his works was how intricately carved they are considering that many of them are small pendants to be worn around the neck.

Rhys hails from Australia but has lived in New Zealand since 1984. For much of his youth, Rhys lived at Birdling's Flat at the base of Banks Peninsula, “a windswept and desolate beach where I first learnt about carving from a local family, and discovered my passion for stones and found objects.” This passion is evident in his art, which incorporates his love of beachcombing and of the natural forms of pebbles. The result is a unique style that is strongly influenced by early 20th century sculpture as well as traditional art forms of New Zealand and the Pacific.

In 2000, Rhys moved to the West Coast to study jade and hard stone carving with the goal of supporting himself and family solely on his artwork. After completing his diploma qualification in 2002 and serving a short stint as a commercial carver and lapidary worker, Rhys began working fulltime as a self-employed artist since 2004, opening his permanent workspace and launching his website.

Click here to visit Rhys’s website.

Click here to read about Rhys on Tiki Central.