In 1996 and 1997, Niko Thomsen visited New Zealand before deciding to permanently move there in 1999. Settling in the Wairarapa region, he established himself as a versatile working artist, showcasing his talent through diverse creations—ranging from bridges, gates, and garden structures to furniture, blacksmithing, and contemporary art.

“During my time at the Ottersberg Art School near Bremen in Germany, where I was studying to become a painter in the early 1990s, I came across a welding machine down in the sculpture workshop and decided that fusing different bits of metal together and creating something “real” was actually a lot more satisfying than trying to express myself through a somehow more abstract, two-dimensional medium, the canvas.

Driven by the excitement of the physical engagement with new material, the smell of oil and setting the old rubbish tin on fire, I started to create things with a real difference. They were heavy, sharp, dangerous, big, and they were made from steel”. – Niko Thomsen