IN A ROOM WITH FRED FOWLER

In a Room is a conversation series where we ask our friends to share their favourite domestic spaces. For this edition, we’re joined by contemporary artist FRED FOWLER.

Fred is a Melbourne-based visual artist with roots in graffiti and street art, holding a Master of Contemporary Art from the Victorian College of the Arts  (2011) . His abstract works blend cartoonish forms and vivid symbols grounded in landscape. He describes them as wormholes or portals to alternate realities, which quietly confront issues like colonisation, environmental crisis, and globalisation. Fowler’s work is held in the National Gallery of Australia collection, as well as in private collections globally.  He has exhibited extensively at Jan Murphy Gallery, Sophie Gannon Gallery, and with solo and group shows around Australia. 

In this edition, Fred invites us into his studio as well as his living room, where family, meals, and rest overlap. He reflects on the childhood living room built by his father that looked out over bushland, on the simple magic of a well-loved rug, and a very special dream house from the world of Blade Runner.

Fred Fowler

Which room are you in today? 

I’m in the main space of my studio — it’s where I do most of my work. I have so many positive associations with this space. To me, it represents endless possibilities and potential.

 Which room is the heart of your home?

Probably the main living room. It’s where we eat, play with the kids, and just chill.

Is there a room from your past that has stayed with you?

The living room in the house my dad designed and built in Tathra, NSW was pretty special. It was a cool split-level space that looked out over the big bush block. Sadly, that house burned in the bushfires a few years ago.

What makes a room feel like home and not just a space?

A room feels like home when you fill it with furniture and objects you love. And you’ve got to have a beautiful rug: it really ties the room together.

Inside the studio of artist Fred Fowler

What sort of rooms do you try and avoid?

Rooms with little natural light or low ceilings. I’m pretty tall, so they feel claustrophobic. Also, rooms painted light, cool blue, they remind me of police stations.

Is there a kind of room you’re always drawn to?

I’m drawn to big rooms with high ceilings, lots of natural light, and inviting furniture, like a comfortable armchair or a nice daybed.

What is your all time favourite room?

The main living room of the Ennis House in Los Angeles — designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and featured in Blade Runner — has always been one of my favourite spaces. It’s just so dreamy.

Ennis House, Los Angeles