About Jeanne

Artist Statement

The marks made by human hands have always felt mysterious and powerful to me, from drawings on cave walls and painstakingly copied documents of medieval scribes to urban structures teeming with graffiti. As handwritten correspondence literally disappears in this mushrooming age of electronic communication, the unique marks of individual handwriting become ever more poignant and compelling.

An appreciation for human experience represented by these written fragments compels me in my work. Since most humans live quietly anonymous lives, but all have stories to tell, there is a collective energy in these found marks that I attempt to translate to my surfaces.

Bio

Jeanne Raffer Beck, born in Pittsburgh, PA, is a full-time studio artist who divides her time between her Rochester studio in the Hungerford building and her home on 14 acres in Canandaigua, New York. Jeanne has a BA in communications from SUNY ESC and an MFA in creative writing from Goddard College. She operated Beck Publications for eight years. Jeanne has taught surface design workshops throughout the US and has exhibited her work in numerous exhibitions in the US, England and Australia. Her work has appeared in many magazines and books.

Resume

Solo Exhibitions

  • "Off the Page: Reinventing Alphabets", Arts & Cultural Council, Gallery, Rochester, NY, 2011.
  • "Entwining Alphabets," Adirondack Lakes Center for the Arts, Blue Mountain Lake, NY, 2010.
  • "Notations," University of Rochester, Rush Rhees Library Art & Music Gallery, Rochester, NY, 2008.
  • "Works by Jeanne Raffer Beck," Mancuso Brothers New Jersey Quilt Fest, Somerset, NJ, 2007.

Invitationals

  • Interlacements: Traditions and Innovations in Fiber Art, ACWC Gallery, Perry, NY, 2011.
  • "Art Cloth: Engaging New Visions", Fairfield City Museum and Gallery, 2009; Orange Regional Gallery, 2010; Wangaratta Gallery, Australia, 2011.
  • "Breaking Boundaries: Art of the Quilt", Gallery 50, Traverse City, MI, 2008.
  • "A Personal Landscape: Contemporary Art Quilts," Tyler Art Gallery, State University of New York at Oswego, Oswego, NY, 2008.
  • Columbus Cultural Arts Center, QSDI Invitational, Columbus, OH, 2006.
  • "Committed to Cloth," Festival of Quilts, Knitting & Stitching Shows in London and Harrogate, UK, 2004.
  • "Art:Cloth", The Knitting & Stitching Shows, Birmingham, London, Harrogate, 2008.
  • "Festival of Art Cloth", International Quilt Festival exhibit, Houston, TX, 2007.

Selected Juried Exhibitions

  • Fiberart International 2010, Society for Contemporary Craft, Pittsburgh, PA, 2011; touring exhibition at Memorial Art Gallery, Rochester, NY, 2011.
  • Ohio Craft Museum, “Conversations in Fabric,” Columbus, OH, 2009.
  • Schweinfurth Memorial Art Center, "Made In New York", Auburn, NY, 2007.
  • Schweinfurth Memorial Art Center, "Quilts=Art=Quilts, Auburn, NY, 1998, 99, 2000, ’01,’04.’05,’06,’07.
  • Quilt Surface Design Symposium, 2002-2007, art cloth, Columbus, OH.
  • Surface Design Association Member Exhibition, Kansas City, MO, 2005, 2007.
  • Artspace, "Contemporary Fine Crafts", Raleigh, NC, 2006.
  • Atlantic Center for the Arts, "Considering Quilts", Smyrna Beach, Florida, 2006.
  • Textile Center, "Never Static", Textile Center, Minneapolis, MN, 2006.
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  • Carnegie Center for Art & History, "Form Not Function", New Albany, IN, 2005, 2006.
  • Form Not Function, Houston, TX, two-year traveling small works exhibition. 2006.
  • Chandler Center for the Arts, Art Quilts IX and X, 2004, 2005, Chandler, AZ.
  • International Quilt Festival, Houston, TX, 2003 – 2007.
  • APEX Gallery, Tribute to Fiber Art, Wash, D.C., 2004.
  • Art Quilts, Elements, Page-Walker Art and History Center, Cary, NC., 2004. Part of touring exhibit.
  • 26th Annual Contemporary Crafts Exhibit, Mesa Art Center, Mesa, AZ, 2004.
  • Arizona State University, "Hanging by a Thread", Flagstaff, AZ, 2001.
  • Rochester Finger Lakes Exhibition, Memorial Art Gallery, Rochester, NY, 1999, 2001.

Work in Publications

  • "The Fine Art of Fabric", Canandaigua Magazine, Summer 2011 issue.
  • Fiberart International 2010 Exhibition Catalogue, Pittsburgh Fiber Arts Guild, 2010
  • Textiles Now, by Drusilla Cole, Laurence King Publisher, London, England, 2008.
  • Simple Screenprinting: Basic Techniques and Creative Projects, by Annie Stromquist, Lark Books, 2004, Gallery section.
  • American Quilter Magazine," Burnt Offerings," article, 2008.
  • Quilting Today, #84, "Quilts=Art=Quilts."
  • Surface Design Journal, Winter Issue 2004; Gallery Issue, Fall 2006.
  • Surface Design Journal, "Exposure", Winter Issue 2005.
  • Quilting Arts Magazine, issue #23, "Fine Focus," 2006.
  • Quilting Arts Magazine, issue #25, "Textural Surfaces for Stitch," 2007.
  • Quilting Arts Magazine, issue #26,"Small Wonders," 2007.
  • Exploring Visual Imagery by Jane Dunnewold and Claire Benn, 2007.
  • Published articles include American Quilter, FiberArts, Ceramics Monthly, Art Calendar, Quilting Arts, Ladies Circle Patchwork Quilts, Surface Design Journal and the Surface Design Association Newsletter.

Residencies

  • University of Rochester Art Department, April 2008.
  • Fiber Studio Assistant, Penland School of Crafts, Spring Concentration, 2005.

Television

  • WXXI Public Television, Rochester, NY, Artist Gallery Profile.
  • HGTV, "Simply Quilts," Episode #1107, Studio Interview, 2006.

Collections

  • University of Rochester, Gleason Library.

Affiliations

  • Surface Design Association
  • Arena Art Group
  • Friends of Fiber Art