(Jennifer Bakker)

Many famous artists have been inspired by music. In contemporary American art they include Keith Haring, who loved The Grateful Dead and gained appreciation with his subway art in New York City, and Jean-Michel Basquiat, a neo-expressionist who was also a jazz afficionado. At Red Chair Gallery, Jennifer Bakker, who describes her art as abstract expressionism, paints to the beat of rock and rollers Led Zeppelin and Talking Heads. “If rock ‘n roll could exist in visual form, I would like to capture it in form and color,” she remarks. Her acrylic paintings are showcased at Red Chair Gallery in December.

The rhythms, chords and dissonances of music are a constant source of stimulation and elevation for her. “I’m always playing music,” Bakker says. “It moves me as I’m painting.” She may have a shape or pattern in mind when she begins a piece but aims for spontaneity. “I don’t think very much when I paint,” she explains. She doesn’t want the viewer to think too much either. Instead, she seeks to evoke an emotional or visceral response to her work.

In her work, Bakker loves to explore color relationships and uses highly textured surfaces. In applying color, she “instinctively places color layer by layer until I, myself, am pleased,” she explains. With the idea of contrast in mind, she may pair neon pink with a somber color or just go wild with many colors. To create texture, she preps her canvases in various ways. She may attach crinkled foil with gesso, cut shapes from foam to stick on to create a raised surface, or use plaster on the canvas.

Bakker is inspired by several American artists who identify with abstract expressionism. At the top of her list is Joan Mitchell, who created large pieces with an intense style that comes from “gestural brushwork,” which means painting from the shoulder instead of the wrist. “I like her use of color and the chaos of her line,” she notes. Bakker employs the same brushwork technique in her work. Other influencers for her are Jackson Pollack, known for his “drip technique” of pouring or splashing paint onto horizontal surfaces, and Mark Rothko, who painted “color fields,” which are areas of color shaped like squares or rectangles.

Born and raised in the Chicago area, Bakker loved drawing as a child. She drew a picture of a squirrel once and “decided it was the best thing ever,” vowing to become an artist someday. But after obtaining a BFA degree from the University of Missouri, she didn’t immediately become an artist. She worked various jobs and eventually took a trip to Kenya, where she began sketching people on the streets. There she met her husband, Ivo, who is from the Netherlands. They moved back to Chicago where Ivo became a manager for Trader Joe’s. Over the years, they moved to Ashland, OR and had two children, then went back to Chicago. Bakker attained a nursing degree there and worked full time. She also learned to make mosaic art and sold her mirrors, tabletops and other pieces in galleries around Chicago.

Seven years ago, just as they were itching to get out of the big city and move to a more rural area, her husband was offered a managerial position at Bend’s Trader Joe’s store. Remembering how much they had enjoyed living in Ashland, they moved here. Bakker works in Bend as a psychiatric nurse but has found the time to rekindle her interest in painting. Come into Red Chair Gallery to see her striking and colorful work.

redchairgallerybend.com • jenbakkern@gmail.com • 773-895-8961