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  • Home
  • Artists
    • Gallery Artists
  • Member Artist Exhibit
    • beth cartland 2023
    • Archive Member Exhibits >
      • Joseph O’Neill 2022
      • Harriet Sobie Goldstein 2022
      • Gretl Bauer 2022
      • Scott Wixon 2022
      • beth cartland 2021
      • Christa Toole 2021
      • Joseph O’Neill 2021
      • William C Butcher 2021
      • Gretl Bauer 2021
      • Guna S. Mundheim 2021
      • Laura Sussman-Randall 2021
      • Avilmar Maia 2021
      • Harriet Sobie Goldstein 2020
      • beth cartland 2020
      • Laura Westby 2020
      • Christa Toole 2020
      • Joseph O’Neill 2020
      • William C Butcher 2020
      • Gretl Bauer 2020
      • Harriet Sobie Goldstein 2020
      • Avilmar Maia 2019 >
        • Archive Invitational Exhibits >
          • Raktimava Ghosh Dastidar
          • Helene Ruiz
          • Vian Borchert
          • Sally Brown
          • Rachel Yurkovich
          • Antoine Janot
          • Jordan Merlino
          • Jinson Joseph
          • Lisa DeLoria Weinblatt >
            • Samantha Dominik
          • J.P. Snyder
          • J. Leigh Garcia
          • Tai Lipan
          • Azzah Sultan
          • Maryamsadat Amirvaghefi
          • Michael Marks
          • Philip Krejcarek
          • Abigail Kyros
          • Sheena Bajaria
          • bill davis
          • Sarah Jentsch
          • ZAKRIYA RABANI
          • Stephanie Garon
          • Zac Benson
          • Exhibition archives >
            • Past Interviews >
              • Gretchen Beck
              • Sherry Muyuan He
              • Guna S. Mundheim
              • William Culpepper
              • Oaklee Thiele >
                • Mayuko Ono Gray
                • Jessica Burke
              • O'Delle Abney >
                • Amy Guidry >
                  • Mana Mehrabian
                  • Marsha Heller
              • Andre Rubin
              • Ellis Angel
              • Cecilia Martinez >
                • Steven Bleicher
              • Kathleen Deep
              • Artem Ryskin
              • Patti-Anne Grabel >
                • Guglielmo Botter​
              • ​Jave Yoshimoto
              • Stephie Kate
              • Samantha Parker Salazar
              • Resa Blatman
              • Matthew Gualco
              • Mario Loprete
              • keith buswell
              • Joan Bell
              • Paul Hunter
              • Xiaojie Liu
              • Chris Perry
            • Archive
            • Past Member Exhibitions
          • David Boskovich
          • Hanna Vogel
          • Alice Stoler 1
          • Wendy Foster >
            • Rhonda Massel Donovan
          • Avilmar Maia
          • Julia Sebastian & Christy Wittmer
          • Oaklee Thiele
          • Tony Moore
          • BARBARA RACHKO
          • Jackie Lipton
          • Leah Naxon
          • Andrew Phillips
          • Jeff Schmuki
          • Kevin Schumacher
          • Rob Millard-Mendez
          • Kelly Boehmer
          • Nicole Patrice Dul
          • Alice Stoler
      • Marsha Heller 2019
      • Laura Westby
      • Dongze Huo 2019
      • Joseph O’Neill 2019
      • beth cartland 2019
      • William C Butcher 2019
      • Scott Wixon 2019
      • Gretl Bauer 2019
      • Harriet Sobie Goldstein
      • Gretl Bauer
      • Laura Sussman-Randall 2
      • Avilmar Maia 1
      • Harriet Sobie Goldstein 2
      • Joseph O’Neill
      • Dongze Huo
      • beth cartland
      • Pamela Flynn
      • William C Butcher
      • Scott Wixon
      • Pamela Bennett Ader
      • Avilmar Maia
      • Christa Toole
  • News
    • Artist
    • Collective
  • APPLY FOR INVITATIONAL ON LINE EXHIBIT
  • Contact
  • Invitational Exhibit
    • Gina Petrecca
    • Seth D. Ellison
    • Brian McSherry
    • Marshall Sharpe
    • Marilyn J. Fox
    • Maryam Khaleghi Yazdi
    • Theodore Heubein
    • Zac Benson >
      • Lorna Ritz >
        • Melody Croft >
          • Charvis Harrell
    • Marsha Heller
    • ARTIST INTERVIEWS >
      • Elaine Fleck
    • ANDREW LEVENTIS
    • Christine Olmstead
  • Schedules: exhibits and Interview
    • Member Exhibition Schedule
    • Invitational Exhibition Schedule
    • Interview Schedule



September 2020
Artist Interview

Gretchen Beck
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​


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For the images I produce as an artist, I have conducted research in Niger, West Africa, where I lived for three years. My art involves an exploration of the Nigerien landscape, the Djarma and Fulani cultures and the art forms they create. This abstract work portrays ritual and tradition in Nigerien culture.
To create my imagery, I work from a variety of references. Relationships among color, shape, and texture come together to form fluid and grid-like compositions. Color dominates the images and dictates the media employed to produce them. Drawing, painting and collage are the focus of my artistic repertoire.

Gretchen Beck served as Professor of Art, Chair of the Art Department, Curator and on the faculty at Concordia University, Irvine, CA, for eleven years. Currently, she is a professional artist.
She exhibits and discusses her work in group and solo exhibitions in galleries, on national and international levels. 
 
​​At what point in your life did you know that you wanted to become an artist? Did the realization emerge slowly?
My Mom is an artist and I was influenced by her as well as my undergraduate experience at Valparaiso University.

How did you evolve your style and favorite mediums?  
 I served in the Peace Corps in West Africa after undergraduate
school and was greatly influenced by abstraction in native people's art forms.


What are your time management techniques? Do you have regular working hours...or favorite times to work?
I work for a few hours everyday in the afternoons and listen to classical music while I work.

Do you work on more than one piece at a time, or primarily just on one?
I typically try and focus on one project at a time, it allows a stronger focus, connection and concept. I have found if there are too many projects happening at the same time, individual projects do not get the complete focus and attention they need.
 
What would you say is your biggest influence--that which keeps you working, regardless of all else, your most steadfast motivation?
West African culture and art forms.

Does trying something new and not knowing the rules -- the boundary pushing -- create anxiety or excitement in you?  (Or both?)
I do like to try new techniques and it does create excitement for me.

​Do you enjoy having the "duality of both chaos and control" or are you happiest with a set plan?
 I work from sketches, so I like a set plan for my imagery.

 Do you have any projects or events forthcoming? 
I am always working on new work for new exhibitions. I am focusing for the most part on national juried exhibitions right now.

For further information about please contact Gretchen Beck at gretchenjo.beck@gmail.com and you can view her art at www.gretchenbeck.com





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