A Family Thread. Art, Courage, and Influence

Did you know that my grandmother, Eva Aeppli, was an artist as well?

It’s only now that I realise as a child I was also inspired by her work. She created sculptural figures from textiles, quiet and powerful pieces that explored human emotion in a way that was intense. I remember being fascinated by the stitched heads that seemed almost alive.

She made a bold and not normal choice for her time. In the 1950s, she left Switzerland to pursue her life as an artist in Paris, something that was far from easy, especially as a woman. Social expectations were very different then. Women were expected to remain in the home, raising children and supporting family life, often without space for their own creative ambitions.

She left her two children behind, including my father. It was a difficult and complex decision, and one that speaks to the strength of her commitment to her path as an artist.

There is something in that story that stays with me, not just the work itself, but the decisions behind it. The willingness to step outside expectation raises questions. Was it a desire to be free of responsibility, or the need to follow something that felt very important to her?

My own circumstances were different and I did not have to make that same choice. Still, I have carried that thread in my own way (not in the same medium as her) but in the same artistic search. An ongoing impulse to paint, that feels necessary and is something I could not easily put aside.