Michael Angelo (Michael Angel O’ Burke)

Michael Angel O’ Burke (Michael Angelo) is a contemporary Māori carver and painter currently residing in Whanganui, Aotearoa New Zealand. His work sits at the intersection of carving, painting and relief sculpture, translating the unseen energies of the natural world into richly layered, tactile forms.

“I have been inspired by nature since childhood to reveal the unseen — the shapes, colours and energies of nature, translated into painted carvings that speak to you.”

Rooted in his Ngāti Kahungunu heritage, Michael’s practice is deeply informed by whakapapa and lived experience. His grandfather, Pani Paora Chamberlin, was a gifted healer and painter, and this lineage continues to shape Michael’s relationship with both material and meaning. He trained in traditional Māori wood carving under master carver Tony Kapua at Papaioura Marae in Ohinemutu, Rotorua, before further developing his practice at Te Poho-o-Tangiianui Marae in Napier with Te Maru Marsh and Mihiroa Marae in Hastings.

Michael later completed a Diploma in Art and Creativity with Honours, expanding his practice beyond customary carving into a distinctive contemporary language using MDF, carving, and paint to create highly refined relief works.

His work is inseparable from his personal story:

“I am a visual observer of life, living with images — not words or sounds. Everything is stored in memory until a way is found to release and express it.”

After a traumatic birth experience that left him nonverbal as a child, Michael developed a deeply internal, visual way of understanding the world. Nature became both refuge and teacher — a lifelong influence that continues to shape his imagery, which often draws on native birds, forests, spiritual symbolism and biblical narratives.

Michael’s work is held in private collections worldwide and has been exhibited extensively throughout New Zealand. Notable solo and featured exhibitions include:

• Coach House Museum, Feilding (2025)
• Taupō Art Museum – Heart in Nature (2024)
• Pataka Art + Museum, Porirua – The Enchanted Forest by the Sea (2020–2021)
• Academy of Fine Arts, Wellington (2021)
• Square Edge Arts Centre, Palmerston North (2021)
• CAN Art Centre, Napier (2023)

Michael is supported by Arts Access Aotearoa, reflecting the inclusive and sensory nature of his work, which engages audiences across a wide spectrum of experience.

Arts advisor Neil Wallace describes his practice as:

“Michael's life and work cannot be separated. His creative practice is not only a reflection of who he is, but a living part of his survival, identity and healing… These works are not simply decorative or symbolic — they are the physical expression of years of self-mastery, solitude, and spiritual development. He is a masterful maker and an original voice.”

Michael’s work is both deeply personal and universally resonant — grounded in tradition, yet unmistakably contemporary, inviting viewers not just to see, but to feel.