Emma Kathleen Hepburn Ferrer, the granddaughter of the iconic actress Audrey Hepburn, brings her first solo exhibition Scapegoats to Sapar Contemporary in New York.
In her New York exhibition Ferrer explores themes of sacrifice and purity, all while drawing inspiration from her Tuscan surroundings. Her work invites viewers to grapple with questions about humanity's relationship with nature, and the often-overlooked consequences of our actions.
Dirk Vanduffel (DV): Your exhibition Scapegoat poses profound questions, can you share more about what inspired you in this theme and the feedback you received thus far ?
Emma Kathleen Hepburn Ferrer (EKHF): It’s been an incredible experience. One of the best parts is that I am having discussions, like the one we are having, delving deeply into my practice with individuals who both understand and are as fascinated with art as I am. To be asked such specific questions about my art, and for that individual to really show interest, is such a beautiful experience to me. Reading what people have written about my art in the articles that have come out has heartened me so profoundly - I see that people understand what I am trying to say, and that my work is not overly obscure or alienating. People understand these questions that I am posing, questions that are deeply seated within man. Questions like “Does God exist?” “Are nature and God the same?” “Why do men commit atrocities in the name of God?” “Is God present for these lonely, dying animals - for The Scapegoat? Do these animals find God in their dying moments?” “What do we cleanse, and what do we lose, when we create a Scapegoat? Is this real purity?" I can tell that people really seem to like my work and are interested in it. Someone told me “it’s apparent that I am a serious painter” and this is the highest compliment that I could be given.
DV: Living in Tuscany, surrounded by such a unique landscape, must have had an impact on your work. Could you have created these paintings in New York, for example?
EKHF: I do not believe I could have made this work in New York. It’s fascinating, looking at all the work I have produced over the last 2,5 years, how present in my work are the landscapes that I live inside of. Certain colors and textures of the nature around me keep recurring in my work, which is partly intentional and partly happening in a subconscious way. I believe that we filter what we see and it reappears; is recycled in what we paint. The nature of Tuscany feeds my conscious and subconscious mind so powerfully.
DV: What are you working on momentarily?
EKHF: I am continuing to paint. When my painting is best, I am painting every day. I am coming out of a period in which I have traveled a lot - first to Shanghai to celebrate the opening of an exhibition about my grandmother, and then to New York. Between these events was Christmas and the holidays. Today is actually the first day I have back in my studio, and I can’t wait to get back to a routine. I may be naive, but I really believe that as long as I am painting and continuing to discover, the rest will fall into place. The most important thing is working.
DV: What’s your favorite medium or technique ?
EKHF: Oil paint, usually on linen or on jute. I never paint on canvas. I never paint in acrylic. I have become very enamored with building my own canvases, which means I can prepare them any way I like - either leaving the raw canvas exposed and applying just a simple “size” (a medium that seals the pores but leaves the raw color of the canvas) - or by applying the size and then mixing my own gesso ground. I apply the gesso in different layers of transparency depending on the painting I am making, meaning that for me, the painting begins when I am applying the ground to my canvas. Varying the layers of transparency with the ground gives different effects to the painting and allows me to think about how I want to layer my colors: what colors I want to be showing through, and what kind of tone I want to be exposed beneath the paint. Mixing my own ground gives an incredible sense of airiness and atmosphere to the painting.
DV: You are Audrey Hepburn’s granddaughter, has it any influence on your career or has it shaped you as an artist?
EKHF: I am the granddaughter of Audrey Hepburn. It absolutely has had an impact on both my career and on me as an individual. I believe that being who I am gives me this incredible runway, there's no doubt that people are more interested in me because I am a reflection, in ways, of my grandmother. I am grateful for that. I believe that what is in my power is to continue to devote myself to my practice and work hard to merit the attention that I am given because of it. Moreover, being Audrey Hepburn’s granddaughter has brought me incredible experiences throughout my life. These certainly have shaped me as a person, and consequently as an artist.
Exhibition Dates: The Scapegoat, Emma Kathleen Hepburn Ferrer, SAPAR Contemporary New York. The exhibition ends February 15
Main Image: Emma Kathleen Hepburn Ferrer, Courtesy SAPAR Contemporary
Anna Melnykova, "Palace of Labor (palats praci), architector I. Pretro, 1916", shot with analog Canon camera, 35 mm Fuji film in March 2022.
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