Two New Editions of Woodcuts by Annalise Gratovich
The Mother and The Undertaker
Flatbed is very pleased to announce the release of the two newest editions in Annalise Gratovich’s ongoing series of eight, Carrying Things From Home. The two new images titled, The Mother and The Undertaker are the fifth and sixth life-size woodcuts by the first generation Texas artist, representing life and hope, death and loss. The series as a whole encompasses ideas of longing and belonging, personhood and identity, and the realization of one’s self through displacement and diaspora; independence through the lens of community.
The Mother nestles inside of herself a delicate new life, wrapped up and protected by her garments of Ukrainian influence. The cactus metaphorically speaks of the protection and resilience surrounding them, while tying the work to the physical land the artist inhabits. The blending of these two lands is in the headdress, or vinok, decorated with traditional Ukrainian embroidery patterns and cactus blossoms symbolizing motherly love.
The Undertaker cradles in their arms the resting place of a beloved loss. The yucca places us in the borderland of Texas, a region that is no stranger to the moment of humans through a dividing line. This socio-political conversation is present in much of Gratovich’s work, living in a border state, the daughter of a war refugee. The lands of her heritage, Ukraine, mean Borderland. On the pickaxe we see the white moth that is the sole pollinator of the yucca blossom. A symbiotic relationship that speaks to the cycle of life surrounding the figure.
As we emerge from the global pandemic, they also emerge, holding space for the pain and loss experienced throughout the last year, while carrying the joy and hope of our reemergence and reconnection.
The Mother and The Undertaker are now available at Flatbed. Both were printed in small editions of seven. With images measuring 66 inches in height, these monumental woodcuts are close to life-size. Each was created with a unique color chine-collé printing technique using hand-dyed mulberry papers precisely cut and laid-in for the colored areas.
Gratovich is working on the two final woodcuts in the series, The Healer and The Fool. Flatbed looks forward to exhibiting all eight woodcuts in the Fall of 2022.