Antoinette Ferwerda

"Teal Hibiscus" Contemporary Layered Mixed Media Floral Painting on Canvas

2021

Antoinette Ferwerda is a renowned Australian artist largely recognized for producing a bold collection of fine artwork that joyfully explores the geometry of shape and the changing light from dusk to dawn. Championing her love for shape, reflection and nature using a diverse pallet of mixed media to portray her abstract interpretations of nature. Ferwerda's diverse past and a somewhat nomadic childhood has inspired much of her work today. Her backstory reads like something out of an adventure series, having spent her early days living in remote pockets of Papua New Guinea, where she was lucky to spend time in a seaside shack on Ela Beach in Port Moresby, as well as the volcanic town of Rabaul, the Cargo Port Lae, before moving on to Darwin where her Dad worked for the Red Cross and helped with the re-build process after Cyclone Tracy. This was followed by a family stint in Europe, visiting Netherlands, London, Belgium, France, Italy and Switzerland, before finally settling back in Melbourne for her formative years. Her love for nature and exploring the patterns and relationships she finds within started early. “I’ve been forever fascinated with color and the magical interplay of light. Blessed to have a teacher mom who fostered regular creative time during our nomadic stint, my childhood was largely spent creating, especially outdoors,” she says. Never without a pen, sketchbook or scraps of paper, her natural ability to create in layers instinctively started in these early years. Although her work continues to evolve, she consistently creates works that are rich in layers, resulting in pieces that are optimistic, luminous and full of stories from her colorful life. Her signature work is abundant with color and texture, resulting in a transparent quality of her works. Adaptable to any palette, Ferwerda has produced works from a diversity of spectrums and mediums — sun-soaked, muted and ethereal, vibrant, as well as monochromatic with accents of gold. Her themes include abstract and metaphysical interpretations of fossicking in rock pools, exploring the rolling hills of the countryside both here and abroad, the rock formations of the Australian outback and the magical light of a European summer to name just a few. Her dream and longing to become an artist became a reality after starting her own family and farewelling a corporate life in the pharmaceutical industry, with her debut solo exhibition in 2014. Six years on, Ferwerda has fast become a firm favorite amongst interior designers, stylists and home decorators alike, having been represented by Fenton & Fenton, Thom Gallery and Trit House (formally Click On Furniture) to name just a few. Continually experimenting and evolving as an artist, Ferwerda invites the viewer to look deeper through surface layers to find hidden stories of color and form. Past collections have been inspired by visits to the bustling markets of India, the morning light outside her childhood beach shack in Papua New Guinea, fossicking in Australian rock pools and the romantic interplay of light that a European summer brings.