Chris Charteris was born in Auckland and currently lives on the Coromandel Peninsula. Charteris was originally trained in Māori design and carving at Te Rarawa Marae, in Northland in the mid-1980s, and began working as a full-time artist in the early 90s. Between 1986 and 1996 he worked as a carving tutor at Northland, Otago and Southland Polytechnics as well as at the Dunedin College of Education Arai Te Uru Kōkiri Youth Learning Centre. In 1995 he established Te Whare Whakairo Gallery and Workshop in Dunedin. Since 1996 he has exhibited in many solo and group exhibitions in New Zealand and internationally, such as Unlocked, Koru Contemporary Art, Hong Kong, 2009. His group exhibitions include: Wunderruma, Galerie Handwerk Munich, Germany and The Dowse Art Museum, Wellington, 2014; Stone, Fingers, Auckland, 2014; Laisee - 10 Years of Koru Contemporary Art in Hong Kong, 2011 and Pasifika Styles, Cambridge University Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, England, 2008. Chris Charteris’ works are in a number of public and private collections, including Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, The Dowse Art Museum, the British Museum and the Cambridge University Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology.