Jeffrey Erken

I was Born in Seattle, WA to working class parents. I moved out of the city at the age of ten to a rural community about an hours drive north of the urban center. This left me with a real longing for the city to which I returned for my Undergraduate studies at the University of Washington. I entered as a pre-business major, with ideas of being a gallery owner or something of the sort, but quickly changed my mind after seeing what business was all about. In fact, I had many ideas of what I wanted to do until I had a breakdown after coming out to my mom. Whatever the cause, there was obviously some inner turmoil and guilt associated with the coming out process for me. The upside is, it released from virtually every social constraint, and placed me on a journey of personal discovery. For the passed fifteen or so years I have been making art with little interruption.

Education:1996-2000 University of Washington, Seattle, WA. B.A.2006-2007 The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. M.A.

2004 Group show Pacini/Lubel Gallery, Seattle, WA
2010 Group show, 'Revealing Culture', Smithsonian Institute, Washington DC