About

For the past fifteen years, Anna Retulainen has been creating a garden that has emerged in a key
role in her paintings. The garden is itself an artwork in this exhibition. Someone once described the
experience of visiting her garden as “stepping into a painting”. Butterfly Garden explores whether a
painting can offer the reverse experience: the feeling of entering a garden.

Retulainen’s garden and its plants exist mainly for the benefit of insects. Insect decline is a heartfelt
concern for the artist, who deals with this theme both through painterly expression and
contemplation of beauty.

Painting …