Inside Rina Freiberg's Beachside Home
Introducing The Cocktail Makers, a collective series celebrating makers, creators, and inspiring individuals sharing their home style and favourite cocktail recipe.
Today we meet abstract artist Rina Freiberg, touring her beachside townhouse in Cottesloe, Western Australia.
The Perth-based artist's home breathes fresh air and bright colour, with her artworks displayed across every wall. Rina welcomed us into her home and shared her vodka cocktail recipe with the Republic of Fremantle journal.
Rina Freiberg’s signature style explores the outlines of human faces against playful, vibrant backgrounds. The high-energy colour palettes fill her artistic home with life – and it’s hard to take your eyes off each art piece, as you find yourself lost in her abstracts.
Hey Rina, you’re our first Cocktail Makers guest, welcome! What has been keeping you busy lately?
Commissions! It's been a year of connecting and working on creating specific works. I find it is a rewarding process to start a project and take the work in directions I wouldn’t have come to otherwise explore. No two works are ever the same, but the commission process takes their uniqueness to another level. I let everything from the details of where the art will hang, the personalities and context behind the project and the desired message/vibe, push me somewhere new. It’s never boring and always challenging but it’s the thrill of nailing it that I live for.
We’re in love with your drawing style and colours, what inspired you to become an artist?
I still have moments when I can’t quite grasp that art is what I do, haha. It was never on my list of ‘possible career paths’. I finally reached a point in my mid-twenties where I realised my creating was the constant in my life. I was drawing or painting every day. The direction I was heading became unavoidable, it was more effort to deny it. It’s been five years now and there is no looking back.
Talk us through your creative process. Where do you start?
It's going to sound terribly vague and abstract - it always starts with a mark? A line? A dot? - then it's about pulling together a conversation. Materials alone are also enough to get me started - if there is a pen, if there is paint or a crayon, even a loose piece of paper, that’s all it takes. I have a painting I’m currently working on from the top of my washing machine (I’m running low on wall space!) just because there were brushes and tubes within reach. In terms of subject, faces and bodies are where I find the most satisfaction, so I generally default there.
You have so many incredible artworks hanging in your home, do you have a favourite?
Yes! But it’s more like ‘flavour of the month’ rather than a ‘GOAT’ situation. Conveniently, I don’t get too attached no matter how much I adore them. If/when the right person comes along I find it easy to let them go - I think of myself as a temporary custodian. There is always an element of destiny to where the art ends up.
What has been the highlight of your career so far as an artist?
The travel I get to do and the people I meet. I’m incredibly grateful that I get to interact with people around the world, and that the art starts so many conversations and connections. Even online, a shared visual language is enough to form a solid rapport.
You’ve just returned from Spain and Italy, did you find some inspiration?
Yes, it was amazing! The art in Spain was next level - Madrid and Barcelona should go straight to the top of any art seeker’s list. Getting to stand in front of artworks that I first learnt about in high school art history classes… wow, the magic of the real thing cannot be unfelt. I also headed to Venice specifically for the Art Biennale - which in the context of being located in an already wildly, vibrant cultural mecca - pushed my mind beyond what I have to express and reference. After the jet lag clears up, I think that’s when I’ll start processing it all. I’m excited to see how my work shifts and whether I'll be able to pick the influences…
Now let’s talk drinks! What’s your favourite cocktail to order when you go out at the moment?
I’ll have a Negroni, please/thank you!
Gin or Vodka?
Vodka
What’s your favourite bar or restaurant to visit at the moment?
The Euro-withdrawals are hitting me hard… find me at Madalenas, Casa, or Peps!
Try Rina Freiberg’s Raspberry Clouds cocktail recipe here.
For more from Rina, follow her on Instagram @rinafreiberg.
