Toby Rydge
Toby is a self-taught abstract expressionist based in Bora Bora, French Polynesia. He studied Art History at Australian National University, but his real education came from growing up around his grandfather Albert Rydge’s studio — an artist himself, trained under the Meldrum School of Tonalism in Melbourne.
He’s lived a fairly unusual life for a painter — breaking in wild horses in the Australian outback, diving off cliffs in New Caledonia, schooled at Australia’s oldest independent school from the age of 13. That range shows up in the work. He paints instinctively, and believes what you feel looking at a piece matters as much as what he intended.
Pearls
Toby’s been working with Tahitian pearls for 20 years, since he first arrived in Bora Bora. He holds a GIA Certificate in Pearls (2014), and sources every pearl directly from Tahitian pearl farms himself.
Each piece is designed and set by hand. Nothing is mass produced, and pieces are made available in limited numbers.
The Paintings
Toby works instinctively, without a plan for how a piece will end up. Color and line go down first, then the shapes and structure get pulled out from what’s already there.
He’s not interested in telling you what a painting means. What you see in it is yours — that’s part of the work.
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