Fern Liberty Kallenbach Campbell: All the Bells and Whistles

Fern’s tapestries are loud. Not only in their motifs—derailing group scenes, opulent dining tables, exuberant gatherings. They are also loud in a figurative sense. Standing in front of her works, the mind seems to turn up the conversations, and music begins to throb in your ears. You are no longer merely an observer; suddenly you become part of the scene yourself—a guest at the party, or perhaps even the person seated next to someone at the table.

The gaze wanders restlessly through the magnificent sea of colors, repeatedly catching on small details: a fallen chicken drumstick, a dog sneaking a treat, a smoldering cigarette. Heavy smoke lingers in the air. Figures pull grimaces, wear crooked party hats; bony fingers with shrill claws reach for glasses while the red wine confidently makes its way across the table.

At the center of these scenes are interpersonal relationships—moments that balance between exuberance and escalation, always dancing along a humorous precipice. Fern draws on personal anecdotes that condense within her pictorial worlds and move inexorably toward a point of no return.

The expressive visual language stands in strong contrast to the elaborate and slow process of producing the tapestries. The shuttle moves tirelessly through dense bundles of yarn. By tufting from both sides, a multilayered surface emerges in which motif and material permeate each other and develop a distinctive spatial depth.

At the same time, the weaving technique slightly distorts the motifs, reinforcing the narrative quality of the scenes. Like a fleeting glance or a blurred memory, the image of a carefree evening appears before the mind’s eye—only to drift away again in the next moment.

Fern’s works create friction and—also in response to an increasingly polished social media world—reveal a complex and vibrant reality. With their intense colors, humorously exaggerated figures, and a palpable delight in excess, they convey an untamed vitality and remind us of the fleeting nature of the moment.

[Text Laura Gerstmann, 2026]