Lowe Living Speaker Series – Curating art for your home
Welcome to the latest installment of our Speaker Series, providing you with access to exclusive insights and expert advice.
Antoinette Ferwerda is an Australian fine artist known for creating bold artworks, with a masterful use of colour and texture. The creative force behind her eponymous Brighton gallery, Antionette has collaborated with Lowe Living across several Bayside projects, from Azura Aspendale, Topaz Parkdale and her most recent display now showcased at Sera Brighton.
Lowe Living sat down with Antionette to learn more about the inspiration behind her pieces, the art form of choosing the right pieces for your home, and what she envisions when collaborating with the Lowe Living brand.
Tell us a little bit about yourself?
I am the founder of Antoinette Ferwerda Gallery in Brighton, and I create abstract artworks using vibrant colours and textures. My paintings are somehow familiar and represent personal interpretations of things around me, including the natural world, landscapes, stars, flowers and urban structures. Painting empowers me to connect with a deeper part of myself; something that is instinctive, magical and unique.
What is your approach to creating art?
Art connects people. The art I create attempts to harness all the elements within a space, to compliment the hard textures and soft furnishings so the room is brought to life with its unique personality. If what I paint resonates with people, then that is a powerful, human connection.
I see artwork as the soul within an interior. Natural light sources, the size of the wall, and the energy anticipated within the room, are all considered when I’m creating art for a space. Different energies exist within different spaces. Kitchen and dining areas with high activity and regular interactions usually have artworks larger in scale, that are bold and brightly coloured. Bedrooms tend to have smaller scaled artworks and soothing colour palettes for calm energy in a quiet, restful space.
What is it like working with Lowe Living, how do your brands connect?
Collaboration is a key element of my personal business style and my art gallery brand. One of the most enjoyable aspects of designing art pieces for Lowe Living’s projects is the open-mindedness and innovation that Lowe Living encourages. Being engaged at the concept stage of a project, allows me to create art that connects synonymous with the Lowe Living brand, which is focused on the client and the quality of design. There’s a real sense that we’re working together, as one team, on a shared vision.
What should you consider when selecting key pieces for your home?
Art is subjective and very personal, it should bring joy, connection and interest to any home. A mix of artwork sizes, textures, colours and locations are all considerations when selecting key pieces for your home. When selecting pieces, I recommend considering artworks that resonate with you personally, fit cohesively within the space and complement your furnishings.
What should you avoid when selecting art for your home?
Ideally, your artwork should bring together various elements of your interior space, including colour, texture and cohesively complement form and design. When choosing art for your home, try to avoid the common mistake of hanging an artwork too high. When hanging your artwork on your wall, make sure it is hung at eye level, to achieve a balanced look in the room.
Taking a broader look, what trends are you currently seeing in the art landscape?
The recent trends in Australian modern architecture mean that natural light is often prioritised and many buildings feature large windows. However, this can sometimes result in limited wall space in some interiors. Open-plan spaces with multiple, large-scale windows lend themselves well to a single original artwork, dramatic and large in scale, to complement the large, open architectural design and form.
I have observed that both in Australia and other countries, some artworks are hung off-centre on walls to create a balanced interior with the help of negative space. A gallery-style wall, where multiple artworks of various sizes are hung cohesively together is always a dramatic feature and never goes out of style when presenting your art collection.
Antionette understands the importance of collaboration, and the willingness to push creative boundaries to bring her artwork to life. You can visit some of Antoinette’s latest collections at Lowe Livings Sera Brighton display apartment, Topaz Parkdale’s final townhome or directly at her gallery here.
To arrange your private appointment to view the Sera display apartment and explore available residences please contact our Client Services team, Barry Devenny 0484 594 110, Anna Notari 0438 940 071, or Sarah Fox 0466 547 115 or submit and enquiry here.