Annalise GRATOVICH

What Annalise Gratovich lacks, she makes up for.  As a daughter of Ukrainian immigrants living in Texas, she seems at peace with being a cultural hybrid, and doesn’t lay claim to a particular ancestry.  Yet, her carefully crafted prints, are steeped in traditions at the crossroads, geographically and historically.  Does one recognize a Ukrainian folkloric dance outfit; or is the garment infused with Native American symbols?  Gratovich doesn’t reveal, and it doesn’t really matter.  The creatures she etches in copper or carves from wood blocks, the inventions she constructs from cut-out and collaged prints, are not Chicano or Manga.  They are none of this; yet also all of the above and more.  She and her work may not be rooted in one distinct nationality or culture, but Gratovich has found ways to incorporate artistic symbols, textures, colors, and assorted elements from a wide array of personal cultural references.  The result is not eclectic.  Rather, Annalise Gratovich creates wonderous prints, which feel synthetic.  She presents her own mixed cultural ancestry, inhabited by creatures and beliefs that have become all her own.