Nicole Fearfield

For Nicole Fearfield, painting is the embodiment of freedom. Her work is driven by memories of foreign adventures. When she paints, she relives the sensory experiences of certain places: ‘the sun on my skin, the smell of lavender on the breeze, the ambient sound of the locals,’ conducting these recollections through her brushstrokes.

For Fearfield, painting is about ‘finding aliveness,’ conveying her wonderful lust for life. Her initial stages are governed by energetic brushstrokes which tune into her feelings of joyful abandon. She is a physical painter, her marks exploding from full-body movements.

The freedom of her work is anchored by a tightness of composition: frenetic mark making is tempered by continents of colour; the low values are uplifted by the high; an energetic surface is counteracted by subtle layers. This tension between release and consideration create works with an emotive power.

Striking from a distance and complex up close, Fearfield’s paintings act as ocean pools, pulling the viewer towards them to discern their ever-revealing depths. ‘Much like when you meet a new person,’ she says, ‘you are attracted by their surface, but it isn’t until you get closer that you see the qualities which make them who they are.’

Nicole Fearfield was awarded Winner, Revival Art and Design Emerging Art Prize 2023. Nicole's first Solo Show, "Moving Colour" takes place in March/April 2024.