Jan ten Broeke, "A Mid-Century Modern Retrospective (1950s–60s)," May Artist of the Month (Copy)

Gallery on Main's is delighted to once again present paintings by our good friend, visionary painter Jan ten Broeke (1930–2019), whose “brush name” was Ten, from May 1 through 31. Admission is free, and Ten’s paintings are available for purchase.

Join us for the opening reception on Saturday, May 10, from 5:00 to 7:00 pm.

Born in the Netherlands, Jan ten Broeke painted and studied art his entire life. His work has been exhibited in New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia, the British West Indies, Germany, and Canada. Aside from art and art history, Ten also gained inspiration from the origin of life, prehistory, anthropology, geology, and astrology.

Ten’s first encounter with notoriety came on the day of his birth, when a severe thunderstorm was raging and would ravage the countryside of rural Marienberg. Ten was born a blue baby gasping for air. A thin membranous veil—locally believed to signify the gift of second sight—covered his face. The gift conferred in lieu of the supernatural, however, was manifest from early childhood, in the form of his uncommon artistic skill and a profound understanding of and reverence for the wonders of the natural world.

Ten titled his work with his name and the date of execution, instead of traditionally titling them, because he believed traditional titles confuse one’s perception of his paintings rather than clarifying it.