Amalgam: A Conversation with Frances Jetter and Steve Brodner

Join us for an evening with celebrated visual artists Frances Jetter and Steve Brodner in conversation about Jetter’s latest work, Amalgam (published by Fantagraphics). This uniquely told immigrant story connects Jetter’s personal journey with that of her ancestors, exploring their interwoven ties to the 20th-century labor movement.

Following the conversation, there will be a Q&A session and a book signing. 

About the book:
At the heart of the narrative is Abram, a Polish Jew who immigrates to America seeking economic opportunity. Much like his biblical namesake, he adopts a new identity, “Abe.” A passionate union advocate yet a rigid patriarch at home, Abe’s life is one of convictions and contradictions, reflecting the broader immigrant experience.

The book’s visuals are haunting and evocative, populated by impressionistic figures with piercing expressions, bringing to life scenes of worker struggles and intimate moments of lost connections. Throughout, Jetter weaves a love letter to her mother, Rose, whose memory is etched into the story like a ghostly presence.

Twelve years in the making, Amalgam masterfully blends linocuts, keyholes, and hinges to create a powerful meditation on memory, legacy, and the enduring presence of the past.

Frances Jetter’s linocut prints, often with political subject matter, have illustrated articles in the New York Times, the Washington Post, TIME Magazine, the Nation, and the Village Voice, among other publications.

Jetter’s prints and artist’s books are included in the collections of the Fogg Art Museum at Harvard University, the Detroit Institute of Arts, The New York Public Library, the Grinnell College Print and Drawing Study Room, the Library of Congress’ Rare Books and Special Collections, and in university collections across America.

Jetter has received fellowships from the New York Foundation for the Arts. During her fellowship at the New York Public Library’s Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers she researched integral parts of Amalgam. In 2019, The Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, MA exhibited more than 65 of its prints.

Frances Jetter teaches at the School of Visual Arts.

Photograph by Deborah Feingold

Steve Brodner is an award-winning caricature artist, political cartoonist, educator, and author; publications such as The New York Times, Esquire, and The New Yorker feature his work. The 2011 Gold medal in the editorial category from the Society of Illustrators counts among his many accolades. He currently lives in New York City where he teaches at the School of Visual Arts and the Fashion Institute of Technology.

Photograph by Leo Sorel