ROSS JAHNKE

Ross Jahnke's work focuses on oil painting and printmaking, particularly woodcut prints and silkscreen prints. What unifies all the works is his conceptual approach to the figure and woodgrain as a tool to invigorate and delineate space.

Jahnke is widely recognized as a printmaker and a painter but he didn’t always want to pursue both concentrations in the arts. Having studied painting and drawing as an undergraduate and even in graduate school, Jahnke was coaxed into taking a printmaking course by another graduate assistant. By the time he graduated, he had expressively mixed the two media. “If a painting is like a symphony orchestra, then a print is like a string quartet. The music is no less complex or compelling but it is made with more limited means, and demands more from each of its component parts. I relish the challenge of printmaking where the visual and conceptual vocabulary is dictated by the process, and I need to problem-solve steps ahead to achieve an outcome,” says Jahnke.

Jahnke is currently a Full Professor of Art at Nicholls State University and teaches printmaking, color theory, and papermaking.

Artist Member since 1992

BACHELOR OF FINE ARTS (PAINTING & DRAWING), UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN - MILWAUKEE

Master of Fine Arts (Painting & Printmaking), Louisiana State University

CURRENT exhibition

OCTOBER 2-25

SHOW OF FORCE

ARTIST STATEMENT

“Making things has always been my way of understanding the world. Growing up, my hands were always busy—refinishing furniture, building models, drawing, carving, and fixing the family cars. I’ve carried that builder’s mindset into my adult life, passing those skills down to my children who lived through home remodeling, Mardi Gras float building, creative projects, and broken family cars.

Like so many people, I feel deep anxiety, frustration, and anger about today’s political and social climate. The changing nature of our military stance and international relationships is particularly disturbing. This body of work turns those heavy feelings into something cathartic and satirical.

Modeled after cheap toys, I’ve created a humorous but sharp critique of our current place in the world order. On the surface, it’s a military parade designed to impress. But those fragile, disposable playthings are like the green curtain that concealed the little man who was the Wizard of Oz.”