ARTIST BIO
Doris Kapner (b. 1971, she/her) is a multidisciplinary artist working primarily in sculpture and printmaking. The daughter of German immigrants and raised in New York, she earned her B.F.A. in Sculpture from Purchase College in 1994 and has worked in art galleries, as a TIG welder, police officer, homemaker, loss prevention manager, visual merchandiser, yoga teacher, and art instructor. This fluctuation between typical male and female roles informs her work.
Kapner received 1st place in the Women United Art Prize 2023 for Printmaking. She was featured in the Arts to Hearts Project Studio Visit Book Vol-1, The Jealous Curator’s Member Spotlight and received an Honorable Mention in Create Magazine’s The Women's Issue 2020.
Doris Kapner is currently based in Charlotte, NC but dreams of the mountains.
ARTIST STATEMENT
Inspired by the Grimm brother’s first edition of fairy tales released in 1812, this series highlights society’s dark side.These 19th-century fairytales are the cornerstone of our modern-day versions. However, the original stories are filled with much less cheer and joy. They were sexist, misogynistic and often horrific. Our society still struggles with violence, murder, oppression, poverty, and abuse and it continues to happen within families. As the daughter of German immigrants, I work from what is familiar and what is culturally significant to me. The stories of the Grimm brothers recall memories of my childhood. The monoprints work intrinsically to present a visual experience based on my distinct cultural association to these stories which I re-present in relation to contemporary life. Pulling elements from the stories and creating images that feel both haunting and storybook like, this series explores the fantasy, absurdity, and social issues within the pages. Life is beautiful and ugly, hopeful and tragic, full of wonder and fear. You are invited to step into the fairytales and reassess what your assumptions are. Is it really a magical place or a nightmare? Has our society evolved or do we just pretend that it has?
