CELIA FERNANDEZ
BIOGRAPHY
Celia Fernandez is an award-winning artist and frequently represented as a finalist in prominent Australian art prizes.
She initially explored photography, but upon discovering the Op Art movement it ignited a dormant passion for painting and effects, leading her down a new path that she has continued to explore to the present.
She explores the interrelation between colour and shape to create a visual experience that engages the sight and emotions of the public via her geometric abstract painting style.
Through the use of dots, she creates art that communicates a sense of spirituality. As a result, her paintings usually depict social emotions and behaviours with the colours representing the diversity of people’s race, culture, gender, personality, etc.
In Celia’s work you’ll notice the influence of Bridget Riley's drawing compositions and the obsessive, repetitious mark-making of Yayoi Kusama. Inspired by her two major influences, she developed her own original technique.
Her almost hypnotizing pop pointillism displays intense attention to precision and detail, playing with the illusion of perfection.
Her work is experimental, original, intuitive and playful, a delightful representation of contemporary Art.
PRACTICE
STATEMENT
The dot is said to be the fundamental starting point of any painting.
Dots can be turned into different shapes, although they are most commonly associated with the circle.
The circle is a powerful symbol with multiple meanings.
The circle is one of the oldest symbols in human history, and it has various connotations across cultures regarding its power.
The circle represents eternity because it has no beginning or end.
The circle represents balance, since it contains two halves joined together—the yin & yang signifying duality and ultimately showing the harmony between two seemingly opposite forces.
It symbolizes that life is eternal and never-ending, signifying that what begins will always come back around again, a representation of the cycle of life; birth, death and rebirth.
It signifies that we are all part of something larger than ourselves and that cycles are continuously unfolding in our lives.
The circle succinctly encapsulates the dynamism of human reality. When we remain entrenched within our mental and emotional peripheries for too long everything appears more chaotic, unpredictable and endless. Yet, by expanding our periphery new beginnings and realities emerge.
Simply contemplating the drawing of a circle, a nothingness that seems whole, leaves us silent and thoughtful. It is the magic of the symbol...
In my personal perspective, the act of creating art is profoundly spiritual, and abstract painting is a very generous and forgiving style that offers the possibility to express and interpret emotions beyond words.
I’m often asked why I chose to paint with dots. My simply response has always been that they chose me. However, once I removed the noise and theoretical reasoning from my consciousness, I understood the spiritual significance behind geometry and the circle’s shape, and the profound message that we are all interconnected.
I have come to realize that the dots did not choose me; they have always resided within me, within you. Somehow, we all originate from a dot, as the universe itself is a singular dot and we are vibrating energy experimenting all within it.
Because circles symbolize infinite continuation rather than finality or death, they signify that growth is perpetual, whether we see it or not. This notion serves as a reminder that amidst any present hardships, renewal is always possible when we have faith and courage enough to keep moving forward.
ARTIST
MESSAGE
ARTIST CV
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2025 Collie Art Gallery | Collie. WA, Australia
2024 Redland Art Gallery | Cleveland. QLD, Australia
2024 Campbelltown Arts Centre | Campbelltown. NSW, Australia
2024 Affordable Art Fair Sydney | Australia
2024 Affordable Art Fair Melbourne | Australia
2024 Affordable Art Fair Hong Kong | Hong Kong
2024 Affordable Art Fair Brisbane | Australia
2023 Edinburg Art Fair | Scotland
2023 Affordable Art Fair Singapore | Singapore
2023 Affordable Art Fair Melbourne | NSW Austrlia
2022 Caloundra Regional Gallery| Caloundra, QLD Australia
2022 ‘The Perception of Movement And Colour’ Solo Duo | Curl Curl Creative Space | Sydney, NSW, Australia
2022 Castlemaine Art Museum| Castlemaine, VIC Australia
2021 The Other Art Fair | Sydney, NSW, Australia
2021 Aarwun Gallery | Canberra, ACT Australia
2021 Artists of Mosman 2088, Mosman Art Gallery | Sydney, NSW Australia
2021 Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre | Liverpool, NSW Australia
2020 Campbelltown Arts Centre | Campbelltown. NSW, Australia
2020 Caloundra Regional Gallery | Caloundra. QLD, Australia
2020 Gosford Regional Gallery | Gosford. NSW, Australia
2020 Belle ArtStart, Art Gallery of NSW | Sydney, NSW Australia
2020 Artists of Mosman 2088, Mosman Art Gallery | Sydney, NSW Australia
2019 Mosman Art Prize, Mosman Art Gallery | Sydney, NSW Australia
2019 No Place Like home, Several locations | Sydney, NSW Australia
2019 Artists of Mosman 2088, Mosman Art Gallery | Sydney, NSW Australia
2018 Artists of Mosman 2088, Mosman Art Gallery | Sydney, NSW Australia
2017 Lane cove art prize, Lane Cove Art Gallery | Sydney, NSW Australia
2014 Anual Dutch Art Fair | Amsterdam, The Netherlands
2014 Rotterdam Art Fair | Rotterdam, The Netherlands
AWARDS
2025 Finalist | ‘Desde Lo Mas Profundo De Mi Ser’ The Collie Art Prize | Collie, Australia
2024 Finalist | ‘Balance 4’ Redland Art Awards | Cleveland, Australia
2024 Finalist | ‘Alone in the Crowd’ Fisher’s Ghost Art Prize | Sydney, Australia
2022 Winner | ‘Friendship’ Sunshine Coast Art Prize & BMW Motorbike Art | Caloundra, Australia
2022 Finalist | ‘Friendship’ Sunshine Coast Art Prize | Caloundra, Australia
2022 Finalist | ‘Fire Approaching’ Len Fox Painting Prize | Castlemaine, Australia
2021 Finalist | ‘I Can’t Touch You But I Sense You There’ Lethbridge 20000 Small Scale Art Award | QLD
2020 Finalist | ‘Where Will I Go When I'm Gone’ The 66th Blake Prize | Sydney, Australia
2020 Finalist | ‘Parallelism’ Fisher’s Ghost Art Prize | Sydney, Australia
2020 Finalist | ‘The Sea and the Desert’ Gosford Art Prize | Gosford, Australia
2020 Finalist | ‘Chimera’ Sunshine Coast Art Prize | Caloundra, Australia
2020 Winner | 3rd prize ‘Cascades’ Belle ArtStart | Sydney, Australia
2019 Semi-finalist | ‘Cascades’ KAAF Art Prize | Sydney, Australia
2019 Finalist | ‘Present and Future’ Mosman Art Prize | Sydney, Australia
2019 Winner | ‘On the Right Direction’ Acrylic Pour Challenge. Liquitex Australia & Eckersley's | Sydney Australia
2017 Finalist | ‘Iceland series 19’. Maggie Diaz art Prize | Melbourne, Australia
MEDIA
2022 Meet the Others: Alejandra Sieder & Celia Fernandez 'The Power of Collaboration' | TOAF Saatchi
2021 Artist Profile magazine | #57 issue print issue
2021 Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre: Education Kit booklet | print issue
2021 Northshore Living | page 40 - January print issue
2020 Diafano Mag | page 40 - August online issue
2020 Featured on Belle Magazine Australia| page 44 – #May issue printed issue. Australia
PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
Kimpton Margot Sydney Hotel | NSW Australia
Sunshine Coast Art Prize & BMW Motorbike Art | Australia
JUDGE
Draw Argentina – Consulate General of Sydney | NSW, Australia