Jean Behnke - Tideland Press Studio

In the studio, my art making is essentially an inventive process motivated by my own innate bearings. I am drawn to the inherent qualities of materials and gathered objects, followed by an inclination to combine things. Recent bronze work, began as collected and assembled wood elements and later cast in bronze, and over the years, I have produced large graphite drawings of small forms as a way to elevate the common object. I also produce unique monoprints on a large Ettan press, a kind of printing which merges layers of mark making and brings unpredictable depth into the flat space of paper. By merging these composite layers under 6,000 pounds of tremendous pressure, each additional layer brings a welcome departure from my own initial intention and I am more than encouraged by the idea that the press always has something to say last in the process. Somewhere between my own intentions and an inventive process, what I make in the studio seems to resolve itself on its own terms. Although this resolution is not possible to predict, I can place things in some kind of alignment where an authentic work may happen.

http://www.jeancbehnke.com

https://www.smithandvalleegallery.com/artists/jean-behnke/