About the Speakers

Fern T. Apfel is a Hudson Valley artist who specializes in making paintings with hand written text. She is a two-time recipient of the Individual Artists Grant from the New York Foundation for the Arts and a four-time recipient of a Mohawk Hudson Regional Purchase Award. In 2022, Apfel received the Yasuo Kuniyoshi Award from the Woodstock Art Association and Museum “given to a contemporary artist who has exemplified outstanding achievement over the past year and has an overall track record of excellence.” In 2024, Apfel was awarded the Jane Altes Award for Artist Excellence at the Arts Center of the Capital Region in Troy, NY.

Apfel’s paintings are in the permanent collections of The Hyde Collection, The Tang Teaching Museum, The Albany Institute of History & Art, SUNY Albany Museum, The Shaker Museum Mount Lebanon, The Columbia County Historical Society and Museum, The Art Students League of NY, Fidelity Investments, NY, Kidder Peabody & Co., Capital Group Corporate Collection, London, UK. as well as numerous private collections.

Recent exhibitions include: Abide with Me at The Arts Center of the Capital Region (Troy, NY, solo), Sacred Geometry at the Woodstock Art Association & Museum (Woodstock, NY, solo), What is Lost? at Garage Gallery (Beacon, NY, solo) Counting the Seconds Between Lightning and Thunder at the Wassaic Project (Wassaic, NY), and Text at Joyce Goldstein Gallery (Chatham, NY). Upcoming exhibitions include Greater Valley Artists at Foreland (Catskill,NY), Movement at the Dorsky Museum at SUNY New Paltz (New Paltz, NY), and I Say:Women Artists and the Words They Use at The Hotchkiss School (Lakeville, CT).

Emily McElwreath is equipped with over eighteen years of experience as an adviser, independent curator, art educator, and brand consultant. She is the founder of McElwreath Art Advisory, in addition to being host and CEO of The Art Career Podcast. Throughout her career, Emily has organized multiple programs, lectures, and panels, featuring distinguished artists, on university campuses and leading NYC venues, in addition to lecturing herself at Sotheby’s Education. Emily has worked on blockbuster exhibitions including Andy Warhol, Julian Schnabel and Nate Lowman at The Brant Foundation, as well as lecturing at top NYC museums including The Whitney and The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Most recently, Emily has curated multiple exhibitions with leading emerging artists. Building relationships with artists continues to be Emily’s main focus, frequenting studio visits, connecting artists with collectors, and building partnerships within the art community.

For more info please contact Will Hutnick:

image: Night Sky, 2024, Acrylic and pen on wood panel, 30 in x 24 in