About
Born in 1975, Dan Tucker spent a dream-like childhood growing up in New Zealand, surrounded by the ocean. When he was a mere 4 years old, his parents launched their home-built yatch, New Zealand Maid, and with five sons as crew they spent several years exploring the waters around New Zealand, Tahiti and Tonga.
As you can imagine, the ocean played a huge part in Dan’s upbringing and as soon as he was old enough he headed out to sea as a commercial fisherman. While hauling fish, Dan became intrigued by the wandering albatross and as a result headed off into the sub Antarctic to research the albatross and sea lions who inhabit this area.
Arriving back in New Zealand with a piece of whale bone in his pocket, Dan began carving and sculpting small treasures for friends and family. Dan soon realised he had discovered a passion in which he could combine his undeniable knowledge of the ocean with his admiration for the natural environment and so, he set himself up a studio in Owhiro Bay on the south coast of Wellington. From here Dan’s career as a sculptor evolved in leaps and bounds; he exhibited nationally, including New Zealand sculpture onshore, completed a number of commissions and participated in five sculture symposiums.
In 2006 Dan moved to Tasmania and set up camp (and a studio) in the bush on Bruny Island. Currently residing on Bruny Island, he has exhibited in numerous exhibitions including the Fleurty’s benchmarking sculpture trail; winning the Centenary Art Prize two years running and the 2010 Peoples Choice Award.
Looking at his work, it’s clear to see Dan has an immense connection with the ocean and its surrounding environment. His sculptures reflects the years spent at sea, the miles of earth he has traveled and a true love of nature itself.