STATEMENT
My process is informed by histories of art that are rooted in observation, responsiveness and play. With a commitment to forms of making that retain a tactile and material intention as objects in the world, I explore the sensate exchanges that occur between stasis and movement, perception and meaning. Attentive to the dynamics of daily life, I search through form that mirrors a psychological and bodily experience: that is particular to the urban environment and cultural moment, and that arrives with a poetic stance. I want the work to function as a site wherein visual perception and sensory experience co-mingle, creating heightened, yet contingent moments of awareness.
BIO
Valerie Jenkins received a B.F. A from Grand Valley State University in Grand Rapids, Michigan and an M.F.A. from the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. She attended the Slade School of Art in London, England and the New York Studio School. Valerie's work is included in the collection of the Weisman Art Museum, featured in New American Painting volume 113, and published in the International Drawing Annual by the Manifest Creative Research Gallery and Drawing Center. Her artwork has been recognized through grants and fellowships from the McKnight Foundation, Minnesota State Arts Board, and the National Endowment of the Arts. Actively exhibiting her work both regionally and nationally, selected group and solo exhibitions include: Rosalux Gallery, Minneapolis, Foster Gallery, University of Wisconsin, Elmhurst (Illinois) Museum of Art, Tucker Cooke Gallery, University of North Carolina, Missouri State University Art and Design Gallery in Springfield, National Galleries of Scotland, The Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh.
Valerie is a dedicated artist and educator whose teaching career spans 25 years. Currently, Valerie is Professor and Chair of the Department of Art Practice at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit Michigan. With roots formed while growing up in both Texas and Michigan, Valerie Jenkins has the tendency to see the world through divergent perspectives. As an educator and visual artist, she relishes the opportunity to bring differences together while maintaining the belief that harmony can exist in creating unity through diversity.