BIO

Iwona Van Niekerk is a Polish-Australian contemporary painter based in Perth, Australia. She began her artistic journey in Poland and later lived in Copenhagen and London, experiences that continue to shape her visual language and sensitivity to form, space, and atmosphere.

Working primarily in oil on linen, her practice moves between abstraction and figuration, drawing on elements of cubism, surrealism, and illusion. Geometric structures, particularly squares and grids, appear throughout her work, reflecting an early fascination with architecture, spatial order, and the relationship between structure and emotion.

Her recent works are increasingly inspired by the Australian landscape, especially the richness of the red earth, alongside themes of femininity, identity, and the quiet tension of modern life. Through abstracted female figures and layered compositions, she explores ideas of womanhood, multitasking, inner strength, vulnerability, and the balancing of many roles at once.

Rather than presenting fixed narratives, her paintings invite contemplation and personal interpretation, allowing viewers to form their own emotional connection to the work.

In 2023, she was awarded the Public Choice Award at the City of Stirling Art Exhibition. She is an active member of Art Conversations WA, Western Australian Society of Arts, Mundaring Arts Centre, and Ellis House Art Centre.

CV

Born in 1978 in Poland

Resides and works in Perth, Western Australia

Selected Exhibitions:

2026
Oxford Street Gallery Exhibition, Mount Hawthorn, Australia - upcoming

Ellis House Art Centre Exhibition, Bayswater, Australia
Brunswick Street Gallery, Melbourne, Australia

2025
Feminine Fragility Exhibition, Moore Gallery, Fremantle, Australia

2024
Ellis House Art Centre Exhibition, Bayswater, Australia
Conversation II Exhibition, Inglewood Art Hub, Perth, Australia

2023
City of Stirling Art Awards & Exhibition, Perth, Australia — Public Choice Award
City of Rockingham Exhibition, Rockingham, Australia
City of Bayswater Exhibition, Bayswater, Australia
City of Stirling Exhibition, Perth, Australia
Conversation I Exhibition, Inglewood Art Hub, Perth, Australia