Ferjo Original

Find the exact ferjo original you’re shopping for in the variety available on 1stDibs. You can easily find an example made in the Pop Art style, while we also have 2 Pop Art versions to choose from as well. Adding a ferjo original to a room that is mostly decorated in warm neutral tones can yield a welcome change — find a piece on 1stDibs that incorporates elements of brown, beige, black and more. A ferjo original from Ferjo, Fernando de Jesus Oliveira and Fernando de Jesus Oliveira — each of whom created distinctive versions of this kind of work — is worth considering. Artworks like these of any era or style can make for thoughtful decor in any space, but a selection from our variety of those made in canvas, fabric and oil paint can add an especially memorable touch. A large ferjo original can be an attractive addition to some spaces, while smaller examples are available — approximately spanning 20 high and 20 wide — and may be better suited to a more modest living area.

The price for an artwork of this kind can differ depending upon size, time period and other attributes — a ferjo original in our inventory may begin at $3,200 and can go as high as $44,000, while the average can fetch as much as $3,650.

Where Dream Meets Reality Surrealist artist Ferjo creates a whimsical world of contradictions. A fish and strawberry adorn the canvas to represent life; a butterfly is suspended in the air to represent freedom. And such is the multifaceted work of Brazilian-born artist Ferjo, whose art—created in his signature Surrealist style—make up a body of work as diverse as the items floating in his artwork. “A teacher at my school told me I had something that nobody had—this ability to paint portraits and landscapes,” the artist says. “It’s more difficult because there are millions of artists who paint classically. That’s why I paint ‘dream and reality.’ There’s almost a classical theme, and at the same time, it’s a dream when you look at it.” Born Fernando de Jesus Oliveira, Ferjo was raised in São Paulo, Brazil, where his artistic skills were recognized early on. In 1974, the young artist was invited to attend the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts on an exchange program after being commissioned to produce a portrait of an American family. The artist considers his time in school beneficial but believes true artistic talent comes from within. After a stint producing portraits for the Brazilian Board of Tourism, he left his country to take up permanent residence in the United States, where he joined forces with publisher Katherina Perry in 1994. Like many great contemporary painters, influences from Dali and Picasso, among other Masters, are evident in his art, but Ferjo takes it a step further in a series dedicated to the artists in which their famous works appear as paintings on the walls of his Surreal worlds. “Those are the artists that inspire me, and I pay tribute to them,” he says. “I put their paint in my paint.”

In the wake of World War I’s ravaging of Europe, artists delved into the unconscious mind to confront and grapple with this reality. Poet and critic André Breton, a leader of the Surrealist movement who authored the 1924 Surrealist Manifesto, called this approach “a violent reaction against the impoverishment and sterility of thought processes that resulted from centuries of rationalism.” Surrealist art emerged in the 1920s with dreamlike and uncanny imagery guided by a variety of techniques such as automatic drawing, which can be likened to a stream of consciousness, to channel psychological experiences.

Although Surrealism was a groundbreaking approach for European art, its practitioners were inspired by Indigenous art and ancient mysticism for reenvisioning how sculptures, paintings, prints, performance art and more could respond to the unsettled world around them.

Surrealist artists were also informed by the Dada movement, which originated in 1916 Zurich and embraced absurdity over the logic that had propelled modernity into violence. Some of the Surrealists had witnessed this firsthand, such as Max Ernst, who served in the trenches during World War I, and Salvador Dalí, whose otherworldly paintings and other work responded to the dawning civil war in Spain.

Other key artists associated with the revolutionary art and literary movement included Man Ray, Joan Miró, René Magritte, Yves Tanguy, Frida Kahlo and Meret Oppenheim, all of whom had a distinct perspective on reimagining reality and freeing the unconscious mind from the conventions and restrictions of rational thought. Pablo Picasso showed some of his works in “La Peinture Surréaliste” — the first collective exhibition of Surrealist painting — which opened at Paris’s Galerie Pierre in November of 1925. (Although Magritte is best known as one of the visual Surrealist movement’s most talented practitioners, his famous 1943 painting, The Fifth Season, can be interpreted as a formal break from Surrealism.)

The outbreak of World War II led many in the movement to flee Europe for the Americas, further spreading Surrealism abroad. Generations of modern and contemporary artists were subsequently influenced by the richly symbolic and unearthly imagery of Surrealism, from Joseph Cornell to Arshile Gorky.

Find a collection of original Surrealist paintings, sculptures, prints and multiples and more art on 1stDibs.

Painting is an art form that has spanned innumerable cultures, with artists using the medium to tell stories, explore and communicate ideas and express themselves. To bring abstract paintings, landscape paintings, still-life paintings and other original paintings into your home is to celebrate and share in the long tradition of this discipline.

When we look at paintings, particularly those that originated in the past, we learn about history, other cultures and countries of the world. Like every other work of art, paintings — whether they are contemporary creations or works that were made during the 19th century — can often help us clearly see and understand the world around us in a meaningful and interesting way.

Cave walls were the canvases for what were arguably the world’s first landscape paintings, which depict natural scenery through art. Portrait paintings and drawings, which, along with sculpture, were how someone’s appearance was recorded prior to the advent of photography, are at least as old as Ancient Egypt. In the Netherlands, landscapes were a major theme for painters as early as the 1500s. Later, artists in Greece, Rome and elsewhere created vast wall paintings to decorate stately homes, churches and tombs.

Today, creating a wall of art is a wonderful way to enhance your space, showcase beautiful pieces and tie an interior design together.

No matter your preference, whether you favor Post-Impressionist paintings, animal paintings, Surrealism, Pop art or another movement or specific period, arranging art on a blank wall allows you to evoke emotions in a room while also showing off your tastes and interests. A symmetrical wall arrangement may comprise a grid of four to six pieces or, for an odd number of works, a horizontal row. Asymmetrical arrangements, which may be small clusters of art or large, salon-style gallery walls, have a more collected and eclectic feel.

Download the 1stDibs app, which includes a handy “View on Wall” feature that allows you to see how a particular artwork will look on a particular wall, and read about how to arrange wall art. And if you’re searching for the perfect palette for your interior design project, what better place to turn than to the art world’s masters of color? 

On 1stDibs, you’ll find an expansive collection of paintings and other fine art for your home or office. Browse abstract paintings, portrait paintings, paintings by emerging artists and more today.