FREDERIC ANDERSON

Frederic’s work always begins with drawing. For him, drawing is not just a preparatory step but a raw, intuitive process—a site of emotion and rhythm. Like music, his drawings emerge as immediate reactions, often completed within seconds or minutes. Only a few are later selected and developed into paintings through a long, considered process.

Once the drawing transitions into painting, the pace slows dramatically. Andersen aims to retain the tension and energy of the original, carefully controlling every element. Using airbrush—which keeps his hand off the canvas—he relies solely on sight and sensation to maintain balance. A single change in line thickness or density can shift the entire work, requiring intense focus—unlike the spontaneous nature of drawing.

The works are presented in three series, categorised by background colour and technique. The white series is minimal and restrained. The orange works emphasise rhythm through vivid colours and scattered marks. A newly introduced ‘splash’ series appears free but is in fact slow and deliberate. These pieces subvert his usual airbrush method—drawing is done at a distance, then carefully recreated with hundreds of oil paint touches, replicating each mark in detail. Andersen describes this as ‘balancing fast senses with slow craftsmanship.’

Though abstract in appearance, his works are rooted in specific emotions, memories, and rhythms. He listens to music while drawing: Freddie Hubbard for the white series; Thad Jones, Lee Morgan, and Art Farmer for the orange series; and Arvo Pärt’s Tabula Rasa for the splash series. He prefers first pressings, valuing their raw, immersive quality that sharpens his perception.

Titles hold no fixed meaning. Like the drawings, they arise from intuition — spontaneous words or phrases that have no narrative tie to the image. He often juxtaposes words or combines lingering emotional tones, leaving space for viewers’ interpretations. The exhibition title, Other Creatures From The Garden Of Eden, invites imagination beyond familiar myth, opening room for alternate lives and meanings.

This conceptual openness is vital to his work. Andersen believes the empty space in painting can be central, even essential. He relates this to the Buddhist idea of emptiness (śūnyatā)—a space where traces emerge, disappear, and transform. These quiet voids are not blank, but dynamic fields of energy. For him, ‘nothingness is the sum of all potential,’ pointing to abstraction’s philosophical depth.

Frederic Andersen’s work is not about image but sensation—less depiction, more experience. His paintings are events, compressions of time, and traces built over time. This exhibition highlights the complexity and intensity of his visual language, offering a nuanced take on contemporary abstraction.

Educated at the University of the Arts London, Andersen began with figurative drawing, later evolving his own abstract approach. He has held solo exhibitions in New York, Madrid, and Barcelona, received the Metro Imaging Mentorshipand Made in Arts London awards, and was a finalist for the Tiffany & Co. Studiomakers Prize.