Talking With Painters

There is something mesmerising about Fred Fowler’s paintings. The multitude of small, colour-filled shapes scattered across a monochrome background raise a lot of questions. Is that a pink cat? A cactus? An alien? Next to a mobile phone tower? Are they related? Other amorphous elements seem purely abstract but still somehow evoke a response; a memory, an emotion. The viewer is taken into an alternate space where objects might be floating or fixed but often not identifiable. Ultimately it's a sensory experience which demands multiple viewings so it's not surprising that these works fly off gallery walls in sell-out shows. Fred's work is held in the National Gallery of Australia and, although his roots are in graffiti art and graphic design, as soon as he began his studies at the Victorian College of the Arts it became clear to him the direction he should take. In this interview he talks about that transition, the artists who have influenced him and the thoughts behind his work, openly sharing the struggl