ABOUT
Bio
Charles Beneke grew up in Suffolk, Virginia and is a graduate of Woodberry Forest School in Orange, Virginia. He earned a B.A. in Art and Psychology from Kenyon College in 1990. After working in book cover design in New York City for four years, he attended The University of Connecticut where he received his Master of Fine Arts in Printmaking and Mixed-media in 1996. Beneke was an assistant professor of art at the University of Wyoming in Laramie, Wyoming where he taught Foundations from 1997 to 2001. He is currently a professor of art and Printmaking area coordinator at The University of Akron Myers School of Art at in Akron, Ohio. From January 2016 through August 2017 he served as the Associate Dean of Academics for the Graduate School at The University of Akron. Beneke was the 2018-20 president of the Southern Graphics Council International. He was the 2008-10 president of the Mid America Print Council. His work in a broad range of print media, installation, painting, and mixed-media addresses disruptive forces within closed systems ranging from the global to the personal.
Education
University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut. M.F.A. in Printmaking and Mixed Media, May 1996.
Kenyon College, Gambier, Ohio. B.A. in Art and Psychology, May 1990.
Professional Experience
University of Akron, Akron, Ohio.
Professor of Art, June 2013 – present.
Graduate School Coordinator of Policies & Proceedures, August 2017 – May 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 (past). Emily Davis Gallery Interim Director (past). MSA Retention, Tenure, and Promotion Committee, Chair (past). 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, Foundation Drawing I, Foundation 2D Design, and Drawing II.
Charles Beneke Design, Akron, OH; Laramie, WY; Fairfield CT; & Hoboken, NJ.
Art Director, 1993 to present. Free Lance Art Director and Graphic Designer. Clients have included Brunty Farms, Epiphany Management Group, Kensington Publishing, and Daniel Weiss Associates.
University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming.
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, and Graphic Design I. Special Topics: Art and Technology.
University of Bridgeport, Bridgeport, Connecticut.
Lecturer, January – May 1997. Taught Visual Organization II: Color Theory.
University of New Haven, New Haven, Connecticut.
Lecturer, January – May 1997. Taught Typography II.
University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut.
Lecturer, September 1996 – May 1997. Taught Foundation Studio I (2D) and Life Drawing I.
University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut.
Graduate Teaching Assistant, September 1994 – May 1996. Taught Drawing I, Drawing II, and Introductory Printmaking. Responsible for running and maintaining the Department of Art Printshop.
Daniel Weiss Associates, Inc., New York, New York.
Assistant Art Director, 1991-93.
Enock, Inc., New York, New York.
Graphic Designer, 1990-91.
solo Exhibitions
2019
Flash Point, Birmingham Southern College, Birmingham, Alabama.
2017
In Absence of Reason, West Virginia University, Laura Mesaros Gallery, Morgantown, West Virginia.
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.
Group Exhibitions
2023
Seven Contemporary Printmakers, Hall Gallery, Millsaps College, Jackson, Mississippi.
2021
Twenty Years of Marais Press: Imprinting a Campus and Collection, Hillard Art Museum,
University of Louisiana Lafayette, Lafayette, Louisiana.
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
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.
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.
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, California.
The Exquisite History Volume III: Visionary Workbook, San Francisco State University, San Francicso, California. Ruffin Gallery, The University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia.
Under Pressure: Contemporary Printmaking and Changing Landscapes, 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.
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 MIMB1 Monumental Ideas in Miniature Books de la BNE, Museo de la BNE, Madrid, Spain.
The Creative Mark, Suffolk Art Gallery, Suffolk, Virginia.
Drawing More, New Image Gallery, James Madison University, Harrisburg, Virginia.
Myers School of Art Faculty Exhibition 2012, Emily Davis Gallery, University of Akron, Akron, Ohio. Paper, Bay Arts Sullivan Family Gallery, Bay Village, Ohio.
University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado.
University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Lafayette, Louisiana.
Nicholls State University, Thibodaux, Louisiana.
Central Connecticut University, New Brittan, Connecticut.
University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida.
Altered Book Project, Summit ArtSpace, Akron, Ohio.
The Morgan Dialogues: Instructor’s Exhibit, The Morgan Conservatory, Cleveland, Ohio. National, invited.
Brand, Re-brand, De-brand, Philagrafika, 2010, UD@Crane, Crane Arts Center,
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Collections
Akron Art Museum, Akron, Ohio.
The Amity Foundation.
The Babcox Family, Cleveland, 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 Lafayette, Paul and Lulu Hilliard 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.