Translating sound and sensation into visual form.
Beethoven Sonata No. 5 for Cello and Piano, Op. 102 No. 2
Acrylic on Canvas
75cm x 100cm x 3cm
Ready to hang
“Sonata for Cello and Piano” by Australian synaesthesia artist Tanja Ackerman is a powerful abstract translation of Beethoven’s Sonata No. 5 for Cello and Piano, Op. 102 No. 2, created in the studio, followed by a live performance with Umberto Clerici, world‑renowned cellist and conductor of the Queensland Symphony Orchestra.
The painting features a striking interplay of concentric circular forms that ripple across the canvas like expanding sound waves. Intricate wavy linework radiates through each ring, echoing the layered textures of cello and piano. The left side is dominated by deep blues and indigos, capturing the sonata’s introspective passages, while the right side transitions into vibrant reds and warm tonal fields, reflecting its dramatic surges of energy. Overlapping spheres and subtle gradients create a sense of depth, movement, and musical dialogue.
Vertical drips and organic textures add immediacy, preserving the spontaneity of the live performance. This artwork stands as a rare synaesthetic collaboration, an immersive fusion of classical music, colour, and form that transforms Beethoven’s composition into a vivid visual symphony.
Signed and accompanied by a certificate of authenticity.
Soundbyte Series
Acrylic on Paper
27cm x 35cm
Requires framing to hang
A minimalist Soundbyte painting inspired by Arvo Pärt’s “Für Alina,” featuring textured white fields, a wavering blue sound‑line, and deep navy grounding.
Arvo Pärt’s Für Alina feels like the closest thing to breathing inside a single note. It’s divine in its restraint, a piece so minimal it becomes a room you can inhabit rather than something you simply listen to. The opening low B sits there like a hum under the floorboards, a dark root that holds the entire world of the piece in suspension. With the pedal pressed, it doesn’t just sound, it glows, it resonates, it becomes a presence.
From that stillness, an F♯ falls into the air, a fragile thread of melody that seems to arrive from nowhere. The tintinnabuli structure, the m‑voice wandering gently while the t‑voice circles the B‑minor triad, it feels like watching light move across a quiet room. Every interval is deliberate. Every silence is structural. Time becomes elastic, almost random, as if the piece is listening back. I am deeply moved.
It’s music that doesn’t ask to be performed so much as revealed. A single line, a single gesture, a single breath.
Today, I painted the hum of the low B, the suspended air, the way the melody feels like a small light moving through a vast interior. A portrait of resonance, of restraint, of a world built from almost nothing.
Signed and accompanied by a certificate of authenticity.
Acrylic on Canvas
75cm x 100cm x 3cm
Ready to hang
I create music-inspired paintings, turning songs into visual form.
“The Great Gig in the Sky” is an abstract synaesthesia painting inspired by Pink Floyd’s iconic track, translating its emotional intensity into colour, texture, and movement.
This artwork reflects the way I experience music visually through synaesthesia. A soft pale‑avocado green forms the foundation of the piece, creating a calm, spacious field for the emotional shifts within the song. Across this surface, detailed line work, painted over many days, captures the rising energy and layered vocal expression that define the music.
Deep burgundy and red tones emerge as the powerful, grief‑filled crescendos of the song take shape. These warm colours convey urgency, passion, and emotional release, contrasting with the tranquil green beneath. The acrylic layers blend seamlessly, echoing the fluid transitions and dynamic surges within the composition.
Toward the lower section of the canvas, soft pinks and hints of blue introduce a more introspective quality. These ethereal tones mirror the quieter, contemplative passages of the music, adding a dreamlike dimension to the work. The multi‑layered surface builds depth and texture, reflecting the complexity of the song’s structure and emotional range.
The composition is designed to be engaging from any angle, inviting viewers to experience the interplay of sound and colour in their own way. Whether you connect with Pink Floyd’s music or are drawn to contemporary abstract art, this painting offers a sensory journey where emotion, pattern, and colour converge.
Signed and accompanied by a certificate of authenticity.
