ARTIST'S STATEMENT

My love of painting has taken me to many corners of the world and I have been greatly influenced by the artistic history I have seen throughout my travels. These experiences have helped to construct my "weltanschauung", or world philosophy, which has guided my artistic sensibility.

Born in Germany, I came to the United States at the age of thirteen. I spent many years in New England and later moved to the San Francisco Bay Area where I now reside. I turned to painting after suffering several significant personal losses. Since then I have worked prolifically and diligently, rarely spending a day without painting. I have an incredible sense of motivation and dedication to my work.

I aspire to create whimsical images that offer a balance of child-like simplicity with contrasting depth. My paintings are densely layered and are covered with a mesh of vivid colors and graffitied or scratched images. My inspiration stems from masters, such as Basquiat, Dubuffet and Klimt, and the simplest artistic creations of children.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Elke Behrens' paintings have been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions in galleries in the Bay Area as well as in Santa Fe, Germany, Switzerland and Singapore. Behrens has studied at the San Francisco Art Institute, Califonia College of Arts and Crafts and the Cecil Graves Studio in Florence, Italy. Her work is internationally recognized and has been purchased by collectors from 17 states and 8 countries world-wide. Some of her collectors include The Honorable George Seymore from Canada/Singapore, Thomas Horn, former President of the San Francisco War Memorial and Performing Arts Center, and Sultan Hassanal of Brunei. Her work can currently be viewed at the 4th Street Studio in Berkeley, CA, the MOMA Artist Gallery in San Francisco and the Fine Eye Gallery in Sutter Creek, CA.

SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2006	University Club, San Francisco, CA
	Clarement Hotel, Berkeley, CA
2005	Fourth Street Studio, Berkeley, CA
2004	Clarement Hotel, Berkeley, CA
2001	Edmunds Gallery, Sonoma, CA
2000	Waxlander Gallery, Sante Fe, NM
1996	Sava Gallery, Mill Valley, CA
	Baneker Gallery, San Francisco, CA
1995	Christian Heller Gallery, Oakland, CA
1985	Cheshire Art Gallery, Singapore

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2005	Fourth Street Studio, Berkeley, CA
2004	Christopher Hill Gallery, St. Helena, CA
2003	Fourth Street Studio, Berkeley, CA
1997-02	Waxlander Gallery, Sante Fe, NM
2002	Jayne Gallery, Kansas City, MO
1998	Sophia Georg Gallery, Denver, CO
1997	Washington Square Gallery, San Francisco, CA
1993-06	MOMA Artist Gallery, San Francisco, CA
1993	Artful Eye, Calistoga, CA
1993	Airport Gallery, Hamburg, Germany
1990	Gallery GSMBK, Bern, Switzerland

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS & REVIEWS

CURRENT REPRESENTATION AND AFFILIATIONS

EDUCATION

- San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco, CA 1995
- California College of Arts and Craft, Oakland, CA 1985-1989
- Cecil Graves Studio, Florence, Italy, 1987
- Teacher/Mentor, Applied Studio, JFK University, Orinda, CA 1994