MAY: Cultivating Lettuce, Andrew Raftery

Andrew Raftery has distinguished himself in the world of contemporary printmaking through his mastery of printing techniques from the past. Eight years in the making, this set of 12 transferware plates chronicles a gardener’s annual work cycle. The title references Gertrude Stein’s 1933 work The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas, in which Stein uses the narrative voice of her partner to provide insight into their shared life. Likewise, Raftery’s depicted autobiography of his garden shares something of himself. His personal narrative, as told through the yearly cycle of his labors in his garden, takes on a central role in this series.