Jordy Kerwick

Taking inspiration from the way writers craft their narratives, Australian artist Jordy Kerwick approaches painting as a form of storytelling. Drawing on folklore, mythology and the enduring tension between good and evil, life and death, fear and bravery, he creates imagined worlds populated by distinctive characters and recurring symbols.

Entirely self-taught, Kerwick began painting in 2016 and quickly developed an expressive visual language combining raw mark-making with vivid colour and richly layered surfaces. Working intuitively across painting, sculpture and works on paper, he embraces imperfection and spontaneity, allowing each composition to evolve through experimentation.

Kerwick’s works bring together historical references and contemporary imagery, often placing classical still-life elements alongside wolves, tigers, cobras, bears, horses, unicorns and human figures. These subjects are frequently deconstructed, repeated or blended into zoomorphic hybrids, creating scenes that feel at once familiar and otherworldly.

Influenced by folk art, modernism and contemporary culture, Kerwick balances humour and menace, simplicity and symbolism. His compelling compositions invite viewers to construct their own narratives, while their archetypal imagery taps into a shared ancestral memory that transcends time and place.