Fiona Chandler is a water colour artist who lives in Sydney, NSW. After 18 years as a designer/illustrator, in 2014, she made the leap to becoming a full-time artist. She is interested in capturing the beauty of the natural world, the unique colours and texture, depicting nature at its most vulnerable.
Fiona’s works live with people excited by colour and nature. By working with watercolour and mixed media, she creates fluidity in her work; subtle washes, bright colours, and fine lines that gently move across the specially made canvas. The idea of decay highlights the ecological crisis, even though Fiona’s artworks appeal to the beauty of aesthetics, they can serve as a reminder to protect and love the environment we live in.
Fiona holds a Bachelor of Visual Arts from the University of Newcastle and a Masters in Design from the University of Technology Sydney.
Education
Fiona holds a Bachelor of Visual Arts from the University of Newcastle and a Masters in Design from the University of Technology Sydney.
Selected shows include
2021-20 History Repeats, Jo Neville, Julie Paterson and Fiona Chandler, MAG&M
2020 Girt by Sea, Sydney Road Gallery (solo exhibition
2019 Mosman Art Prize, Finalist, Sydney
Touch ii, Gaffa Gallery, Sydney
2018 Oil and Water Don’t Mix, Sydney Road Gallery (solo exhibition), 30 Aug – 22 Sep Floating Land – Fiona Chandler and Sarah Montgomery, The Corner Store Gallery (TCSG), Orange, NSW
2017 HUMAN: child artist response project, MAG&M
2016 Lethbridge 10000 Art Award, Finalist, Lethbridge Gallery, Brisbane, QLD
2015 Lethbridge 10000 Art Award, Finalist, Lethbridge Gallery, Brisbane, Qld.
Exhibitions
2024 Solo Exhibition, Studio Gallery, Yallingup
2023 I like your Hyperbole, Manyung Gallery
2023 Really Better Than Your Dreams, AK Bellinger Gallery
2022 Modern Love 2023 A K Bellinger
2022 Solo Show A Great Balancing Act - Sydney Road Gallery
2022 Affordable Art Fair Melbourne – Singapore – Manyung Gallery
2022 Solo Show – Carwash for the Soul – Manyung Gallery
2021 Solo Show – I know That Rock - Sydney Road Gallery
2019 -17
Linden Postcard Show, presented by Linden New Art at Domain House, Melbourne,
Mini Solo, Platform 72, Sydney
Group Show, Paper Pear, Wagga Wagga, NSW
Art/Vert, Saint Cloche Gallery (now Saint Cloche), Sydney
Just A Second, Print Exchange, Brooklyn Art Library New York, USA
New Batch, Platform 72, Sydney
2018 Bishop, Jen. “Disruptive Sydney art gallery celebrates first year.” Interiors Addict, 17 July 2018.
2016 Chandler, Fiona. “Escaping to an Island.” Huff Post, 1 Aug 2016
2015 A4 Art Australia Exhibition 2015, Contemporary Art Society of Victoria, Herring Island Gallery, Melbourne Art
Publications
2015 Vangool, Janine and Dresser, Glen. The UPPERCASE Compendium of Craft and Creativity, Alberta: Uppercase Publishing inc, 2015.
2014 Chandler, Fiona. “Fermented Memories.” The Planthunter, 28 April 2014
Chandler, Fiona. “True Cost/Perceived Value: Flowers & Art.” The Planthunter, 29 Sep 2014
Employment
2017 – Current
Co-Founder, Sydney Road Gallery, Sydney
2014 – 2001
Freelancer, art and illustrations for magazines, television, books, digital, tabletop and textiles, Sydney
2012 – 2007
Creative Director, Fiona Kate, Sydney
2005 – 1997
Art Director, Housewares International, Sydney
1995
Graphic designer, TIME inc. Sydney
Initiatives
2017 Co-Founded Sydney Road Gallery, a co-operative artist gallery in Seaforth, Sydney
2014 Established Creatives in Conversation Series at MAG&M with Creative Women’s Circle, Sydney