The Pacific art world mourns the loss of Uili Lousi, the internationally acclaimed Tongan contemporary artist whose work transcended borders and traditions.
A cousin of Lousi, who spoke to Kaniva News anonymously, has confirmed his death. She stated that he unexpectedly died in Auckland this morning after a flight exchange that was anticipated at Auckland International Airport.
Born and raised in the Kingdom of Tonga and later based in New York, New Zealand, and his homeland, Lousi described his practice as a pursuit of “the deeper order of our universe” – a quest that manifested in radiant, mathematically precise works blending Tonga’s royal motifs with avant-garde abstraction.
Lousi’s art was a dialogue between worlds. Rooted in the sacred Fata-O-Tu’i-Tonga (Royal Tongan patterns), his pieces evolved into pulsating visual fields that channelled what he described as “to create a vibrancy and current of potent energies.”
He studied mathematics, psychics, and logic to inform his hypnotic compositions, which balanced rhythm, synchronicity, and harmony like a fire that does not burn – an inner flame illuminating the soul.
A master of material alchemy, Lousi worked across perspex, painted glass, sculpted oil, and his signature 3D Tapa: traditional Tongan bark cloth mounted on canvas.
The textured tapa, made from mulberry tree pulp, lent his works a whispered luminosity, as if light was woven into their fibres.
From Manhattan galleries to Pacific cultural hubs, Lousi’s exhibitions were rituals of transformation.
His death leaves a void in Oceania’s contemporary art scene, but his vision endures – a celestial compass pointing toward what he termed “the space in between.”
