"Annie's work always has this honesty. From big, high-drama shots of her nude portraits to the shots of the Mexican family, which are very intimate, but gritty and a little dark."
Jennifer English, The Tribune, San Luis Obispo review 6 May 2001

"Some people use the camera to separate themselves from their subject, but with her it's always very personal. Annie Appel invites us to take a closer look." Tim Anderson, Curator

"Appel mythologizes the ordinary, which is rendered extraordinary through her lens. Whether photographing the everyday existence of a Mexican family for ten years, her relationship with her dying father, or the formal considerations of her nude studies she is a master of craft liberating the dulled sight of the viewer. After viewing Appel's photography you're changed, renewed, and intensely curious to see more."
Sharyn Blumenthal, writer/director

"Annie Appel's photography speaks with great eloquence about life...sometimes directly, other times allegorically, but always with sincerity and honesty. Her work, like the artist herself, speaks with a directness and without compromise."
Orville Clarke, writer

"Appel is more than enamored with photography. There is a love affair between her and her camera.... Appel manages to achieve a painterly palette that rivals the inner illuminations of the painter Mark Rothko....".
Karen Kleinfelder, art historian

Artist's Statement

My goal is to establish an intimate dialogue with my audience, subjects, and clients through the lens of my camera. Even as strangers passing each other in common hallways we make eye contact long enough to give a nod of acknowledgement. I want to capture what we all share as human beings... joy, sorrow, hope, and the fulfillment of our dreams.

My work includes documenting the daily life of a Mexican family, my father's struggle with cancer, and a group of cloistered nuns maintaining their traditions in a changing world. The skills I've acquired while doing these long term essays I apply to the art of both wedding and special event photography. Intimacy and love in a world so filled w/ violence and uncertainty... my images reflect the intimacy between family and friends measured by time and savored through the memory of photographs.

Appel has a Master of Fine Arts degree and her work is in the permanent collection of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

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