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Born in 1960 in Southbend, IN, USA


1982, BFA, Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design, Milwaukee, WI

"I use acrylics to create vibrant colors that draw the viewer into the painting. I enjoy the diversity of this medium. With them I am able to water the paint down to transparent washes or build layers creating rich opaque colors. My attraction to bold, bright colors lighten the dramatic story sometimes shown in each painting.

I’ve been drawing since I was a child. My art has always been figurative and narrative. Interestingly, it has always been multicultural, yet I grew up in a northern homogenous community. I find interactions between people, dreams, and personal stories fascinating so I take all these ingredients and throw them into a fabricated theme. I like to provoke questions about who we are in connection to others and the universe.

I find myself unable to categorize my work. Although I have had formal training, there is a definite folk art feeling in the perspective and colors. My approach is to come primarily from my heart with very little sketching or thought. The painting is allowed to flow. I enjoy not knowing what the piece has to say until it is completed.

In my paintings, I bring diverse people and cultures together into staged settings. By the use of color and humor, I hope to draw the viewer into the settings, encouraging questions about each subject portrayed. The viewer, as well as myself, can crate a story, which gives an infinite number of narratives that define each piece."

Jackie Ritke, May 2000 Read the PaintingsDIRECT July 2000 Exhibition featuring Jackie Ritke.

  • Selected Solo Exhibitions
  • 2000: Fyfe’s Corner Bistro, Madison, WI, Forgotten Stories

  • 1997: University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, Portals to Somewhere; with exception

  • 1994: Silver Paper Gallery, Milwaukee, WI, Silver Bamboo Kilmer Award Show

  • 1993:
  • Red Wolf Gallery & Studio, Key West, FL, A Woman in Paradise

  • Dennis Uhlig Fine Art, Milwaukee, WI, The Color of Angst

  • Selected Group Exhibitions
  • 1998:
  • Café Assisi, Madison, WI, Three Large Statements

  • Mother Fool’s Coffee House, Madison, WI, Colors on Gold
  • 1997:
  • Sunporch Cafe, Madison, WI, Lingering Memories

  • Constance Lindholm Fine Art, Milwaukee, WI, Metaorphosis

  • National Women’s Political Caucus, Madison, WI,Artful Women 1997

  • 1996: Transformations, Madison, WI, Messages and Mysteries

  • 1995:
  • Constance Lindholm Fine Art, Milwaukee, WI, People, Places, and Pets

  • Key West Historical Society, Key West, FL, Pride and Prejudice
  • 1994:
  • West Bend Gallery of Fine Arts, West Bend, WI, The Allegorical Image

  • Plush Salon, Columbus, OH, Small Works

  • 1993: Gallery Ten, Rockford, IL, Annual Juried Exhibition

  • 1992:
  • Wustum Museum of Fine Arts, Racine, WI, Watercolor Wisconsin

  • Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee, WI, Cudahy Gallery Annual Juried Exhibit

  • 1991: Metropolitan Gallery, Milwaukee, WI, Friendly Competition

  • 1990:
  • Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design, Milwaukee, WI, 1990 Alumni Exhition

  • WARM Gallery, Minneapolis, MN, Annual Juried Exhibition for Women

  • Leo Feldman Gallery, San Francisco, CA, That American Woman

  • 1989: Sargent Johnson Gallery, San Francisco, CA, Dynamics of Color


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    Selection of works from Jackie Ritke

    Read the guestbook of Jackie Ritke

    Sign the guestbook of Jackie Ritke

  • 1998, Honorary Mention, Greenwich Village Art Fair, Rockford, IL

  • 1992, Silver Bamboo Kilmer Award, Riverwest Artist Association, Milwaukee, WI

  • 1990, Award of Excellence, Festival of Arts, Steven’s Point, WI


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  • Grace, Grace Press Inc., Madison, WI, July/August 1999 Magazine Cover

  • Grace, Grace Press Inc., Madison, WI, July/August 1998 Magazine Cover

  • Fountain, Pac Productions Inc., Ft. Lauderdale, FL, February 1994 Magazine Cover