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Four Seasons, 2020 Set of 4 letterpress on paper mounted to board 6 x 4 feet (72 x 48 inches) each Edition of 8

Four Seasons,

2020
Set of 4 letterpress on paper mounted to board
6 x 4 feet (72 x 48 inches) each
Edition of 8
An extension of his landmark Autobiography of a Garden on Twelve Engraved Plates (2009-2016), Andrew Raftery’s new prints and wallpapers and wallpapers are a continuation of his long-standing reflection of annual renewal, antique printmaking techniques, and his own relationship with art within the social context of the twenty-first century. These four monumental prints, presented here as editioned objects, were first brought together as handmade wallpapers in the artist’s house in Providence, Rhode Island, though Raftery created these prints independently of his home. Each work is designed to emulate the feel and look of a season, captured through the prism of Raftery’s love for historically relevant techniques of making art, as well as his interest in cultivating local and seasonal plants—both of which harken back to his wider Autobiography of a Garden project.

The four works in this 2019 set, titled Summer Scutellarioides, Irisées Irises, Autumn Amaranths and Winter Weeds, study each season of the year using seasonal plants and art historical wit. Each title makes reference to a plant, chosen with a particular print tradition in mind. Winter Weeds makes reference to the skeletal remains of native New England plants poking through the snow—which was itself a motif in the “December” plate from Raftery’s previous Autobiography of a Garden project. Summer Scutellarioides refers to the Latin name of a vivid summer genus, which spoke to the artist for its particular pattern that appears almost printed in real life. Autumn Amaranths feature a damask-type pattern of a spectacular starlit night with various amaranthus and coleus, lit by pinkish moonlight. Finally, the spring-time Irisées Irises feature a collection of brilliant purple irises, chosen for the worldplay they afford on the 19th century practice of printing wallpapers with blended inks, referred to as “Irisées.”
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Four Seasons, 2020 Set of 4 letterpress on paper mounted to board 6 x 4 feet (72 x 48 inches) each Edition of 8
Four Seasons, 2020
Set of 4 letterpress on paper mounted to board
6 x 4 feet (72 x 48 inches) each
Edition of 8

    Autumn Edition
    Spring Edition
    Summer Edition
    Winter Edition
    Four Seasons, 2020
    Set of 4 letterpress on paper mounted to board
    6 x 4 feet (72 x 48 inches) each
    Edition of 8