Fred Fowler
Encyclopedia
Fred Fowler is an Australia
n-born visual artist, specialising in painting
, drawing and printmaking
. He currently lives in Paris
, France
.
, Australia. In 1986, Fred moved to Melbourne
with his family.
Fred displayed an interest in art and a proficiency for it from a young age. His interest was fostered by his parents, who are both architects, and his father taught him how to draw.
he saw around him in Melbourne. At age 11, Fred started experimenting with tagging
in his local neighbourhood. At 15, Fred began creating throw-ups
and pieces
under various alias
es, and at 16, Fred was given the name NUROCK by his graffiti mentor, DUET. It was from this point on, with the name NUROCK, that Fred began to paint regularly. Fred painted on train lines and public walls and also on trains, buses and trams. Fred gained notoriety painting as NUROCK both with his peers and with the general public: "In this sub-culture, Nurock is a bit of a legend. His large street pieces are quite extraordinary - intricate yet confronting, and definitely artistic."
s. Through cutting stencils, Fred found a new way to experiment with spray paint. He was looking for ways to achieve a different aesthetic to his graffiti work.
In 2001, at age 21, Fred held his first solo exhibition Raiders of the Lost Art at A.R.T. Gallery Eden in Melbourne
. His exhibition included stencils, paintings and rock carving
s. According to the new McCulloch Encyclopedia of Australian Art, this exhibition was "one of the first private gallery exhibitions in Melbourne by a graffiti artist."
Raiders of the Lost Art was the subject of a lengthy Age article in June 2001. The front page article was titled "The Street Artist Who Came in from the Cold". The article discussed Fred's artwork, both on the street and in the gallery, and also discussed the graffiti movement more widely. The journalist, Jane Faulkner, drew parallels between Fred's work and that of other artists before him like Henri Matisse
and Jackson Pollock
. She commented that "what unites these artists is experimentation: a word that has become synonymous with 20th century art."
In 2008, Fred held his solo exhibition Highland Chamber at Until Never gallery in Hosier Lane. His exhibition was reviewed by The Age newspaper and his set of five silkscreen prints were praised by reviewer Ross Moore as "a suite of fastidiously elegant black and white ink drawings."
painting tour. He stopped in ten European cities: Paris, Lyon, San Sebastian
, Madrid
, Barcelona
, Dubrovnik
, Zagreb, Prague, Berlin and Amsterdam.
Fred is involved in the exhibition Space Invaders held at the National Gallery of Australia
. The exhibition opened on 30 October 2010 and will tour to Queensland, Victoria and New South Wales in 2011.
Fred's involvement in the exhibition was the subject of an article in The Canberra Times newspaper
.
Fred is now based in Paris and works from his studio in the Bastille
.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n-born visual artist, specialising in painting
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
, drawing and printmaking
Printmaking
Printmaking is the process of making artworks by printing, normally on paper. Printmaking normally covers only the process of creating prints with an element of originality, rather than just being a photographic reproduction of a painting. Except in the case of monotyping, the process is capable...
. He currently lives in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
History
Fred was born in 1980 in CanberraCanberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
, Australia. In 1986, Fred moved to Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
with his family.
Fred displayed an interest in art and a proficiency for it from a young age. His interest was fostered by his parents, who are both architects, and his father taught him how to draw.
Graffiti
Fred was inspired by the graffitiGraffiti
Graffiti is the name for images or lettering scratched, scrawled, painted or marked in any manner on property....
he saw around him in Melbourne. At age 11, Fred started experimenting with tagging
Graffiti terminology
A number of words and phrases have come to describe different styles and aspects of graffiti. Like other jargon and colloquialisms, some phrases vary in different cities and countries...
in his local neighbourhood. At 15, Fred began creating throw-ups
Graffiti terminology
A number of words and phrases have come to describe different styles and aspects of graffiti. Like other jargon and colloquialisms, some phrases vary in different cities and countries...
and pieces
Graffiti terminology
A number of words and phrases have come to describe different styles and aspects of graffiti. Like other jargon and colloquialisms, some phrases vary in different cities and countries...
under various alias
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
es, and at 16, Fred was given the name NUROCK by his graffiti mentor, DUET. It was from this point on, with the name NUROCK, that Fred began to paint regularly. Fred painted on train lines and public walls and also on trains, buses and trams. Fred gained notoriety painting as NUROCK both with his peers and with the general public: "In this sub-culture, Nurock is a bit of a legend. His large street pieces are quite extraordinary - intricate yet confronting, and definitely artistic."
Fine art career
In 1998 Fred began creating stencilStencil
A stencil is a thin sheet of material, such as paper, plastic, or metal, with letters or a design cut from it, used to produce the letters or design on an underlying surface by applying pigment through the cut-out holes in the material. The key advantage of a stencil is that it can be reused to...
s. Through cutting stencils, Fred found a new way to experiment with spray paint. He was looking for ways to achieve a different aesthetic to his graffiti work.
In 2001, at age 21, Fred held his first solo exhibition Raiders of the Lost Art at A.R.T. Gallery Eden in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
. His exhibition included stencils, paintings and rock carving
Carving
- Arts :*Bone carving*Chip carving*Gourd carving or Gourd art*Ice carving or Ice sculpture*Ivory carving*Stone carving**Petroglyph*Vegetable carving*Wood carving- Others :*Data carving and/or file carving, two closely related data recovery techniques...
s. According to the new McCulloch Encyclopedia of Australian Art, this exhibition was "one of the first private gallery exhibitions in Melbourne by a graffiti artist."
Raiders of the Lost Art was the subject of a lengthy Age article in June 2001. The front page article was titled "The Street Artist Who Came in from the Cold". The article discussed Fred's artwork, both on the street and in the gallery, and also discussed the graffiti movement more widely. The journalist, Jane Faulkner, drew parallels between Fred's work and that of other artists before him like Henri Matisse
Henri Matisse
Henri Matisse was a French artist, known for his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a draughtsman, printmaker, and sculptor, but is known primarily as a painter...
and Jackson Pollock
Jackson Pollock
Paul Jackson Pollock , known as Jackson Pollock, was an influential American painter and a major figure in the abstract expressionist movement. During his lifetime, Pollock enjoyed considerable fame and notoriety. He was regarded as a mostly reclusive artist. He had a volatile personality, and...
. She commented that "what unites these artists is experimentation: a word that has become synonymous with 20th century art."
In 2008, Fred held his solo exhibition Highland Chamber at Until Never gallery in Hosier Lane. His exhibition was reviewed by The Age newspaper and his set of five silkscreen prints were praised by reviewer Ross Moore as "a suite of fastidiously elegant black and white ink drawings."
Recent history
During July and August 2010, Fred completed an eight week Eurotrash European muralMural
A mural is any piece of artwork painted or applied directly on a wall, ceiling or other large permanent surface. A particularly distinguishing characteristic of mural painting is that the architectural elements of the given space are harmoniously incorporated into the picture.-History:Murals of...
painting tour. He stopped in ten European cities: Paris, Lyon, San Sebastian
San Sebastián
Donostia-San Sebastián is a city and municipality located in the north of Spain, in the coast of the Bay of Biscay and 20 km away from the French border. The city is the capital of Gipuzkoa, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country. The municipality’s population is 186,122 , and its...
, Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
, Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
, Dubrovnik
Dubrovnik
Dubrovnik is a Croatian city on the Adriatic Sea coast, positioned at the terminal end of the Isthmus of Dubrovnik. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations on the Adriatic, a seaport and the centre of Dubrovnik-Neretva county. Its total population is 42,641...
, Zagreb, Prague, Berlin and Amsterdam.
Fred is involved in the exhibition Space Invaders held at the National Gallery of Australia
National Gallery of Australia
The National Gallery of Australia is the national art gallery of Australia, holding more than 120,000 works of art. It was established in 1967 by the Australian government as a national public art gallery.- Establishment :...
. The exhibition opened on 30 October 2010 and will tour to Queensland, Victoria and New South Wales in 2011.
Fred's involvement in the exhibition was the subject of an article in The Canberra Times newspaper
The Canberra Times
The Canberra Times newspaper was founded in 1926 in Canberra, Australia by Arthur Shakespeare.It was the second paper to be printed in the city, the first being The Federal Capital Pioneer. The paper was sold to the Fairfax group in the 1960s by Arthur Shakespeare on the condition that it continue...
.
Fred is now based in Paris and works from his studio in the Bastille
Bastille
The Bastille was a fortress in Paris, known formally as the Bastille Saint-Antoine. It played an important role in the internal conflicts of France and for most of its history was used as a state prison by the kings of France. The Bastille was built in response to the English threat to the city of...
.