Cover of Artforum 2020

Gretchen Andrew’s "Cover of Artforum" presents us with a handcrafted vision, employing painting, collage, and digital elements. The materials range from conventional art supplies to found objects and printed images, reflecting a blend of traditional and contemporary techniques. The work’s material presence is complex. The textures of paint and paper contrast with the slickness of digital prints and the playful addition of glitter and plastic hearts. It's made through a combination of manual processes like painting and collage, alongside digital manipulation and printing. These processes imbue the work with a layered, almost dreamlike quality, evoking both aspiration and the constructed nature of desire. The artist engages with themes of labor, consumption, and cultural production, challenging the established hierarchies of the art world. The piece prompts us to reconsider the value we place on materiality, making, and context, blurring the boundaries between fine art and craft.