FIONA CHANDER
REALITY BETTER THAN YOUR DREAMS
For the artist, water colour allow her to delve into the intrigue and awe of her environment. Every change in weather effects the way the watercolour is used and behaves. Chandler pushes the boundaries of her medium to capture the complexity of the Australian landscape. The intensity of the water colour unique to her work.
​
When Reality is Better than the Dream is the result of Chandler's Six previous solos, a combination of the last few years of her practice. She reminds us to seek out simplicity—a rock, a wave, a landscape—because here, is complexity, depth, and joy. In the face of the eternal juggling act, both one of nature and art, there is playfulness and wonder. When you arrive at a place that is better than you could have possibly imagined - all is quiet
Fiona Chandler | Curriculum Vitae
Education
2001 Masters of Design, University of Technology Sydney, Australia
1994 Bachelor of Arts (Visual Arts), The University of Newcastle, NSW Residencies
2020 Artist in Residence, Q Station (formerly North Head Quarantine Station) in partnership with Manly Art Gallery and Museum (MAG&M), Sydney
2014 Artist in Residence, Warringah Creative Space, 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 Womens Circle, Sydney
Selected Shows
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
2021-20 History Repeats, Jo Neville, Julie Paterson and Fiona Chandler, MAG&M, 4 Dec 2020 –14 Feb 2021
2020 Girt by Sea, Sydney Road Gallery (solo exhibition), 10 Sep – 4 Oct
2019 Mosman Art Prize, Finalist, Mosman Art Gallery, Sydney, 11 Sep – 27 Oct
Touch ii, Gaffa Gallery, Sydney, 1 – 12 Aug
Home, MAG&M, 25 Oct – 1 Dec
Replay: Celebrating Five Years of the Creative Space, Northern Beaches Artist Studios,
Creative Space, Sydney, 30 Aug – 22 Sep
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, 7 Apr – 27 May
8 x10 Show 2018, TCSG, Orange, NSW, 1 – 8 Feb
NinetyFive Percent – B-SIDE, Creative Space, 8 Jun
Land, MAG&M, 3 Nov – 3 Dec
2016 Lethbridge 10000 Art Award, Finalist, Lethbridge Gallery, Brisbane, QLD, 11 – 19 June
Reimagine, Wallarobba Arts and Cultural Centre, April
Conversations in Colour – Fiona Chandler and Shani Nottingham, TCSG, 13 – 30 Oct
Ever Changing, The Colour Trap Gallery, Sydney
2015 Lethbridge 10000 Art Award, Finalist, Lethbridge Gallery, Brisbane, QLD, 13 – 28 June
Reimagine, Wallarobba Arts and Cultural Centre, Sydney, April
Forage – Sarah Montgomery and Fiona Chandler, Saint Cloche, Sydney, Oct
Little Things (now Little Things Art Prize), Saint Cloche, Sydney, 5 – 13 Sep
Group Shows
2017- 2022 Exhibited in 60 shows including themed, group
2017 Linden Postcard Show, presented by Linden New Art at Domain House, Melbourne, 10 Nov 17 – 12 Jan 18 Mini Solo, Platform 72, Sydney
2016 Group Show, Paper Pear, Wagga Wagga, NSW, July
Twelve – The Koskela Annual Exhibition, Koskela, Sydney, 12 Nov – 24 Dec
Art/Vert, Saint Cloche Gallery (now Saint Cloche), Sydney, 2 – 8 Feb (Curated by Amber
Creswell Bell)
2015 Just A Second, Print Exchange, Brooklyn Art Library New York, USA
New Batch, Platform 72, Sydney
2015 A4 Art Australia Exhibition 2015, Contemporary Art Society of Victoria, Herring Island
Gallery, Melbourne, 17 – 19 Oct
2014 Splash Art Show, Kew Primary School, Victoria
Invited artist, Temple & Webster online art market, Australia
Studio Artists Exhibition, Warringah Creative Space, Sydney, 20 – 29 Nov
Teaching / Workshops
2021 Q Station, Sydney Harbour National Park with MAG&M, History Repeats, Site Sketching with Fiona Chandler, 11 Jan
2014 Harbord Public School, Artist in Residence program
2012 The School, Sydney, teaching Watercolour 101
Publications
2018 Bishop, Jen. “Disruptive Sydney art gallery celebrates first year.” Interiors Addict, 17 July
2018. https://theinteriorsaddict.com/disruptive-sydney-art-gallery-celebratesfirst-year
2016 Chandler, Fiona. “Escaping to an Island.” Huff Post, 1 Aug 2016.
https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/fiona-chandler/escaping-toanisland_b_11290864.html
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.
https://theplanthunter.com.au/culture/fermented-memories/
Chandler, Fiona. “True Cost/Perceived Value: Flowers & Art.” The Planthunter, 29 Sep
2014. https://fionakate.com.au/the-plant-hunter/
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
Professional Development
Current Presenter, Creative Conversation Series, held annually through Creative
Women’s Circle, MAG&M, Sydney
Commissions
2021/2021 Cross Media Arts Project, Q Station, Sydney Harbour National Park in
partnership with MAG&M
​