STATEMENT OF WORK

Fern Apfel

Remnants of the past: old stamps, pages of diaries, pieces from well-thumbed books are my subjects. Often mistaken for collage, my trompe l’oeil compositions push our comprehension of the tangible. 

Each letter, piece of paper or playing card is painted with multiple layers of acrylic paint. The writing is done with archival pens. I work from real letters and memorabilia that I have gathered over many years and from all over the world. 

Mining beauty from old letters and old things, my paintings are nostalgic reminders of things that no longer exist and histories of bygone times. In old letters, we find loved ones, parents, old friends, and our old selves. 

Playing cards can become our companion on a rainy afternoon or an accomplice when performing a magic trick. A box of old playing cards can remind us of a past time, prompt us to ponder the part that happenstance plays in our lives, or foretell the future. 

The Queen of Hearts symbolizes a sincere, loving, tender hearted woman, as well as a mother figure. The flower which appears in all four suits represents self-growth; queens are mature feminine energies who are in full control of themselves. The Queen of hearts is intuitive, creative, and compassionate. 

An empty notebook, a pair of dice, or the queen of hearts - when carefully placed - can evoke an elusive and often ambiguous new meaning.

Space and color are key elements in these minimal compositions as the ephemera transform into abstract shapes. 

Nudging the boundaries between language, painting and abstraction, my pictures present life not as then versus now, but as an inescapable circle of time and memory.

Today when emails are quickly read and deleted, these paper keepsakes survive.

Although the human figure is absent from my work, my work  is deeply rooted in the human condition.