Every year since 1998, the evn collection has invited artists to design their Christmas greetings. In 2019, the artist chosen was Martina Vacheva with her renderings of motifs from the world of fairy tales, myths, and stories.

The quirky extraterrestrial ALF (short for “Alien Life Form”) is the eponymous hero of a highly successful TV show from the late 1980s. This can also be seen in Martina Vacheva’s small work on paper, which brings the TV family together like for a Christmas photo.

With natural arrogance and a big sarcastic mouth, Alf breaks into the suburban everyday life of the Tanners. His penchant for anarchistic actions and his never-ending hunger for cats push the humans around him to their limit. And yet he can be sure of their limitless love.

Martina Vacheva paints with strong colors and a thick impasto stroke. The iconic characters from the entertainment industry are humorously ironized under her brush. Images from the universal media world are often suggestive of a shrill and gaudy cheerfulness. It’s a feel-good world, and we love being drawn into it and joining in, feeling good.

Heike Maier-Rieper, 2019 (translation: Michael Strand)