With her Portuguese background, Denise Ferriera has a deep connection to the tradition of decorative tiles, which influences her view of the ceramic surface and the potential of the material. In her work, she uses both screen printing and hand painting to create expressive works that are both rooted in cultural inspiration and visual drama.
Her artistry explores themes such as emotions, moods and the complex relationship between the inner and outer world, where these dimensions meet and coexist. The works she creates tell stories about both the world around us and her own inner world. References in the artist's work often come from music, film and performing arts where the viewer is invited to a detailed narrative, which gives her work a multifaceted character. Denise is drawn to how artists such as Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera expose the dark and complex in life and from their moods she takes inspiration to create a playful darkness in her own works.
Mexican culture, especially the traditions surrounding death and its celebration, as in Día de los Muertos mixed with a Tim Burton aesthetic is the best way to describe her characters. The art invites the viewer to explore both the bright and dark sides of life with an eye for the beautiful in the unpleasant.
Her interest in anatomy, and the complexity of the human body, is evident in works such as vases inspired by hearts and lungs, which express the body's form and function in a poetic way. The surface, as much as the inside, is given space in Denise Ferreira's creation.
