About
Bio
Charles Beneke [b. 1968, Norfolk, Virginia, USA] works in a broad range of print media, installation, and painting. His work addresses the ever-evolving nature of identity as shaped through time, place, and lived experience. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Art and Psychology from Kenyon College in 1990. After working in book cover design in New York City, he attended The University of Connecticut where he was awarded a Master of Fine Arts in Printmaking and Mixed-media in 1996. His work has been exhibited in The Akron Art Museum (Akron, OH), The American University in Cairo (Cairo, Egypt), Festival Internacional De Grabado Contemporaneo (Bilbao, Spain), Hillard Art Museum at the University of Louisiana Lafayette, and the Hayden Art Center at the University of Nebraska Lincoln among many others. He was a semifinalist in the The Print Center’s 93rd ANNUAL International Competition (Philadelphia, PA) and won Best of Show in the 2001 Cleveland Biennial Juried Exhibition (Cleveland, OH). In 2015 his solo exhibition Specter, an installation/relational aesthetic work, transformed the Akron Art Museum Isroff Gallery urging viewers to confront their roles in the current climate crisis. Beneke is a professor of art, Printmaking area coordinator, and the assistant director of the The University of Akron Mary Schiller Myers School of Art. He served as the Associate Dean of Academics for the Graduate School at The University of Akron from January 2016 through August 2017. Beneke was the 2018-20 president of the Southern Graphics Council International and the 2008-10 president of the Mid-America Print Council. He was honored with the Leadership in Printmaking Award at the Power of Print Mid-America Print Council Biennial
Conference in 2022.
Education
University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut. Master of Fine Arts in Printmaking & Mixed-media, May 1996.
Kenyon College, Gambier, Ohio. Bachelor of Arts in Art and Psychology, May 1990.
Experience
University of Akron
Akron, Ohio. 2001 – present.
Assistant Director, August 2023 – present.
Professor of Art, June 2013 – present.
Graduate School Coordinator of Policies & Procedures, August 2017 – 2019.
Associate Dean—Academics, Graduate School, January 2016 – August 2017.
Associate Professor of Art, May 2007 – June 2013.
Assistant Professor of Art, August 2001 – May 2007.
Printmaking Area Coordinator. Emily Davis Gallery Interim Director. MSA Retention, Tenure, and Promotion Committee, Chair. Foundation Division Chair (past). Two-Dimensional Design Area Coordinator within the Foundation Division (past). Teaching: Introduction to Printmaking, Intaglio/Lithography, Print Matrix, Multiples and Multiplicity, Special Topics in Print: Photogravure, Special Topics in Print: Posters & Zines, Special Topics in Print: Book Arts, Special Topics in Print: Printmaking for Graphic Designers, Drawing I, Foundation 2D Design, and Drawing II.
University of Wyoming
Laramie, Wyoming. 1997 – 2001.
Assistant Professor of Art, August 1997 – May 2001.
Foundation Program Chair. Responsible for designing, implementing, supervising, and articulating the Foundation Program. Taught Foundation: Two-Dimensional, Foundation: Three-Dimensional, and Foundation: Color Theory, Advanced Printmaking, Life Drawing, Graphic Design I, and Art and Technology.
RECENT EXHIBITIONS
Solo Exhibitions
2019
Flash Point, Birmingham Southern College, Birmingham, Alabama.
2017
In Absence of Reason, West Virginia University, Laura Mesaros Gallery, Morgantown, West Virginia. September, 2017.
2016
Prop, Utah State University, Readymade Gallery, Logan, Utah.
2015
Specter, The Akron Art Museum, Isroff Gallery, Akron, Ohio.
Trajectory, Hathaway Brown School, Cleveland, Ohio.
2013
Charles Beneke: Accumulation, an Installation in Two Parts, Lost Coast Culture Machine, Fort Bragg, California.
2010
Melt, Artica, Bilbao, Spain.
2009
Warmer: An Evolving Installation, Honors College Gallery, The University of Akron, Akron, Ohio.
Group & Juried Exhibitions
2023
RWS 20th Anniversary Show, Cove Street Arts, Portland, Maine. Juried Exhibition
Seven Contemporary Printmakers, Hall Gallery, Millsaps College, Jackson, Mississippi.
Myers School of Art Faculty Exhibition, Emily Davis Gallery, University of Akron, Akron, Ohio.
2022
Through the Narrative, Reinberger Gallery, Cleveland Institute of Art, Cleveland, Ohio.
2021
Twenty Years of Marais Press: Imprinting a Campus and Collection, Hillard Art Museum, University of Louisiana Lafayette, Lafayette, Louisiana.
Printwork 2021, Artists Image Resource, Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. Juried Exhibition.
Myers School of Art Faculty Exhibition, Emily Davis Gallery, University of Akron, Akron, Ohio.
2019
Myers School of Art Faculty Exhibition, Emily Davis Gallery, University of Akron, Akron, Ohio.
2018
The Print Center’s 93rd ANNUAL International Competition, Semifinalist, The Print Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Juried Exhibition. Online Exhibition.
Encountering Our Indelible Mark, IMPACT10, C.C. Numancia, Santander, Spain
In Print, Portsmouth Art & Cultural Center, Portsmouth, Virginia.
2017
Uncertainty Principle, 2017 Southern Graphics Council International Conference, Atlanta, Georgia.
2016
The Curated Storefront, The United Building, Akron, Ohio.
Imprint One 2016: Invitational Print Exhibition, The VAM Gallery, Austin, Texas.
2015
Ohio Printmakers, Harris Stanton Gallery, Akron, Ohio.
The Art of the Book, The Sherman Smith Family Gallery at the Henry Zarrow Center for Art and Education, Tulsa, Oklahoma.
4 U: Prints from The University of Akron, Bowling Green State University, The Cleveland Institute of Art, and Kent State University, Zygote Press, Cleveland, Ohio.
Mondo Tondo, The University of Tennessee Knoxville, Knoxville, Tennessee.
2014
Niche, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI.
Re-, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI.
OH Letterpress, The Morgan Conservatory, Cleveland, Ohio.
Inhabit, Doyle Street Pedestrian Walk, Berkeley, California.
Caring for the Commons, California College of the Arts, Oakland, California.
Monumental Ideas in Miniature Books III, San Francisco State University, San Francicso, CA.
The Exquisite History Volume III: Visionary Workbook, San Francisco State University, San Francicso, California.
Under Pressure, Meramec Gallery of Contemporary Art, St. Louis Community College, St. Louis, Missouri.
DI CARTA/PAPERMADE Biennial International Papermade Art Work Exhibition, Palazzo Fogazzaro, Schio, Italy.
Printwork 2014, Artists Image Resource, Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. Juried Exhibition.
2013
Mid-America Print Council Juried Exhibition, McDonough Museum of Art, Youngstown, Ohio. Juried Exhibition.
The Exquisite History Volume III: Visionary Workbook, Center Art Gallery, Calvin College, Grand Rapids, Michigan.
First Impressions, Summit ArtSpace, Akron, Ohio.
MASQUELIBROS II: Artist Book Fair of Madrid, Colegio de Arquitectos de Madrid, Madrid, Spain.
Libros Sorprendentes: La Coleccion Monumental Ideas in Miniature Books, Museo de la BNE, Madrid, Spain.
The Creative Mark, Suffolk Art Gallery, Suffolk, Virginia.
Drawing More, New Image Gallery, James Madison University, Harrisburg, Virginia.
Collections
Akron Art Museum, Akron, Ohio.
The Amity Foundation.
The Babcox Family, Akron, Ohio.
Babcox Publishing, Akron, Ohio.
La Biblioteca Nacional de España, Madrid, Spain.
The Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Alexandria, Egypt.
Frederick and Laura Ruth Bidwell, Peninsula, Ohio.
Buckingham, Doolittle, and Burroughs, Akron, Ohio.
The Cleveland Institute of Art Gund Library, Cleveland, Ohio.
The Corcoran College of Art and Design, Washington, D.C.
The Mid-America Print Council Archives, Purdue University.
Nicholls State University, Thibodaux, Lousianna.
Ohio University, Athens, Ohio.
The Southern Graphics Council Archives, University of Mississippi.
The Turner Print Museum, California State University Chico, Chico California.
The University of Colorado, Special Collections Department & Rare Books Room, Boulder, Colorado.
The University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Paul and Lulu Hilliard University Art Museum, Lafayette, Louisiana.
The University of Minnesota, Minneapolis Minnesota.
The University of Nebraska Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska.
The University of Notre Dame, South Bend, Indiana.
The University of Virginia, McIntyre Department of Art, Charlottesville, Virginia.
The University of Wyoming Department of Art, Laramie, Wyoming.
The University of Wyoming Office of Academic Affairs, Laramie, Wyoming.
Visiting Artist
2021
Winthrop University, Rock Hill, South Carolina, Virtual. October, 2021.
2019
Birmingham Southern College, Birmingham, Alabama, September, 2019.
2017
Ohio University, Athens, Ohio. October, 2017.
West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia, September, 2017.
Cleveland Institute of Art, Cleveland, Ohio. April, 2017.
2016
Utah State University, Logan, Utah. March, 2016.
2014
Sheridan College, Sheridan, Wyoming. September, 2014.
The University of Wisconsin Milwaukee, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, September, 2014.
2013
Houghton College, Houghton, New York, March, 2013.
2012
The University of Texas Arlington, Arlington, Texas, October, 2012.
Murray State University, Murray, Kentucky, September, 2012.
2011
University of North Texas, Denton, Texas. September, 2011.
University of Wisconsin—Eau Claire, Eau Claire, Wisconsin. April, 2011.
2010
Universidad de Granada, Granada, Spain, December, 2012.
State University of New York at New Paltz, New Paltz, New York, November, 2010.
The University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia. March, 2010.
The Cleveland Institute of Art, Cleveland, Ohio, April, 2010.
Youngstown State University, Youngstown, Ohio. April, 2010
Old Trail School, Bath, Ohio. April 2010.
2008
The College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia.
2007
The University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana. November, 2007.
James Madison University, Harrisonburg, Virginia. February, 2006.
2005
The American University in Cairo, Cairo, Egypt. November, 2005.
2004
The University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia. Fall, 2004.
2003
Miller South School, Akron Art Museum Art and Self Program, Akron, Ohio. October, 2003.
2002
The World of Art, Summer Honors Institute for Gifted Students, The University of Akron, Akron, Ohio.
Kenyon College, Gambier, Ohio.
1996
Framingham State University, Framingham, Massachusetts.
AWARDS
2022
Leadership in Printmaking Award, Power of Print, 2022 Mid-America Print Council Biennial Conference, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio.
2018
The Print Center 93rd Annual International Competition, semifinalist, The Print Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
2016
Outstanding Visual Artist, 2016 Arts Alive!, Summit ArtSpace, Akron, Ohio.
2009
Honorable Mention, Mid-America Print Council Juried Exhibition, The University of Southern Indiana, Kenneth P. McCutchan Art Center and The Palmina F. and Stephen S. Pace Galleries, Evansville, Indiana.
Nominated for Outstanding Teacher/Mentor of First-Year Students, University of Akron, Akron, Ohio.
2004
Fellow, Institute of Teaching and Learning, University of Akron, Akron, Ohio.
2001
Best of Show, Cleveland Biennial Juried Exhibition, Cleveland State University Art Gallery, Cleveland, Ohio. Juror-Janet Bishop, Curator of Painting and Sculpture, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.