“ARTIST STATEMENT My approach to making art is inventive and the start of this process is motivated by my innate bearings. I am often drawn in by inherent qualities of the materials and gathered objects, and by simple impulses to combine things.
Bronze work began as collected and assembled wood elements. These forms seem to be objects of metaphorical utility suggesting acts of marking, messaging and warning. In some ways these objects seem to take the form of an invented poetic device-a thing to measure with and at the same time is also the thing being measured.
I make graphite drawings and also unique monoprints on a large Ettan press. The press brings unpredictable depth into the flat space of paper by merging composite layers under 6,000 pounds of pressure. Each additional printed layer brings a welcome departure from my own initial intention. I am encouraged by the idea that the press always has something to say last in the process.
What I make in the studio seems to resolve itself on its own terms, somewhere between any of my intentions and lack of that. Although this resolution is not possible to predict, I can place things in some kind of alignment where an authentic work may happen.”
Jean Behnke 2023
BIO Born in Yakima, Washington and raised in Seattle, Jean graduated from Cornish College and later the University of Texas in San Antonio, Texas with an MFA in Sculpture and Drawing. For many formative years prior, Jean lived in Ketchum, Idaho working at the Sun Valley Center for the Arts thriving on an exposure to a diversity of visiting artists and scholars.
Behnke has exhibited nationally for over 45 years with reviews in Art in America and Artweek. Solo exhibitions include the Kohler House, San Antonio, the Art Gym, Portland, Women & Their Work, Austin, Cygnus Gallery, La Conner, Anchor art space, Anacortes, Shoreline College, Seattle, Perry & Carlson Gallery, Mount Vernon and Smith & Vallee Gallery in Edison. Jean is represented by Gail Severn Gallery in Ketchum, Idaho and Smith and Vallee Gallery in Edison, WA.
Among others, Jean’s work has been included at CoCA, the Tacoma Museum of Art, the Hunt Gallery, Whatcom Museum, Anchor art space, Skagit Valley College, Lower Columbia College, WSU Tri-Cities and the San Juan Islands Museum of Art where she curated and produced the exhibition catalog for this show. Jean has produced three permanent public commissions in Ketchum, Idaho, and on Lopez Island, WA.
Jean founded Anchor Art Space in Anacortes, WA, a well-respected exhibition space offering compelling shows and programs attracting a wide audience from the northwest region and beyond. She served on Boards at Cornish College, 911 Media Arts, Anchor art space and the La Conner Arts Commission as well as represented Artist Trust as a regional ATAL speaker. Jean has taught at San Antonio College, Skagit Valley College and has offered workshops in Texas, Oregon and Washington.
Jean lives and works on Lopez Island in the San Juan Islands of northwest Washington State and is represented by Smith and Vallee Gallery in Edison, Washington and by Gail Severn Gallery in Ketchum, Idaho.”