Laura Pels Ferra is an artist working across drawing, painting and installation. Her practice explores relationships between people, materials and the natural world, with a particular interest in pattern, repetition, observation and entanglement.
Working primarily on paper, Laura develops detailed, often labour-intensive works through drawing and painting. Her current practice explores ecological relationships through landscape, water and the botanical world, using close observation to consider the intricate forms and interconnected systems of the natural environment.
Born in Amsterdam, Laura studied painting at Ar.Co, Centro de Arte e Comunicação Visual in Lisbon, completing an MA in Fine Art in 2001. She held her first solo exhibition in Lisbon in 2002 and has since exhibited internationally. She lives and works in Fife, Scotland.
Selected Artist CV
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2026 — Tangle, Gallery 495, Cellardyke, Scotland
2014 — Paper Pushing, University of St Andrews, Scotland
2014 — It’s Personal, Espaço Quadrado, Galeria Diferença, Lisbon, Portugal
2006 — Out of Pattern, Galeria ArtFit-Nuno Cardoso, Lisbon, Portugal
2004 — Double Agents, Galeria ArtFit-Nuno Cardoso, Lisbon, Portugal, and Galeria Fonseca Macedo, Ponta Delgada, Azores, Portugal — two simultaneous exhibitions featuring different works from the series
2002 — Guaches, Galeria Diferença, Lisbon, Portugal
2002 — Green Fingers, Galeria ArtFit-Nuno Cardoso, Lisbon, Portugal
Selected Group Exhibitions
2023 — Coletiva 2023/2024, Galeria Fonseca Macedo, Ponta Delgada, Azores, Portugal
2019 — Aos 40 anos tudo incluído, Galeria Diferença, Lisbon, Portugal
2014 — Art14, University of St Andrews, Scotland
2011 — Livros de Artista, Galeria Diferença, Lisbon, Portugal
2008 — Premi de Pintura Internacional Guasch Coranty, Fundació Guasch Coranty, Barcelona, Spain
2008 — Pontos de Vista, Galeria Fonseca Macedo, Ponta Delgada, Azores, Portugal
2006 — Arte Lisboa, International Contemporary Art Fair, Lisbon, Portugal
Awards and Grants
2008 — Finalist, Guasch Coranty International Painting Prize, Barcelona, Spain
2002 — Exhibition Grant, Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Lisbon, Portugal
Collections
Culturgest Collection / Caixa Geral de Depósitos, Lisbon, Portugal
Works held in private collections in Portugal, the United Kingdom and internationally
Selected Publications and Commissions
2026 — Rethinking Sustainability: Principles and Practice, Palgrave Macmillan — cover illustration and co-author of Chapter 17, Visibilising Boundary Work in Sustainability Research and Cooperation
2013 — Readings in Twenty-First-Century European Literatures, Peter Lang — cover illustration
Education
2024 — Drawing Ecologies, postgraduate/Masters-level module, Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design, University of Dundee, Scotland.
1999-2001 — Fine Arts Advanced Course (equivalent to MA Fine Art), Ar.Co – Centro de Arte e Comunicação Visual, Lisbon, Portugal.
Interdisciplinary Collaboration and Engagement
Alongside her artistic practice, Laura has extensive experience in facilitating interdisciplinary collaboration, public engagement, and using creative approaches to communicate complex ideas to wider audiences.
CV available on request.
Laura Pels Ferra 