Jane P. Bearinger

Jane P. Bearinger creates abstract compositions by producing chemical patinas on copper sheets. Her work draws directly from her training in biomedical engineering, chemistry, and materials science, using oxidation as both a technical process and a visual method.

Bearinger holds a PhD in Biomedical Engineering. Before art became central to her life, she worked in medical technology startups and helped develop COVID diagnostics. The experimental thinking required by that work continues in the studio, where she applies a familiar question to copper: “What happens if?”

Art had long been part of Bearinger’s life, but her interest in copper intensified approximately fifteen years ago. At a Red Umbrellas exhibition in San Francisco, she encountered the work of another copper artist and was struck by the depth of its colors and abstract movement.

Soon afterward, she began testing patina chemistries and developing her own techniques. The work initially provided an escape from the stress of medical technology startups. It gradually became more important as she reconsidered how she wanted to spend her time after her work with COVID diagnostics.

Her scientific background gives her a detailed understanding of how materials respond under different conditions. Rather than applying paint to imitate color, Bearinger develops color through reactions on bare copper. The surface changes as the metal oxidizes, producing variations in hue, texture, and morphology.

Copper functions as both canvas and active material. Its metallic state remains visible beside oxidized areas, creating contrast between the original surface and the patina produced through chemical treatment. Bearinger treats this transition as the central structure of the work.

The process contains both planning and uncertainty. Temperature, humidity, timing, and chemical composition influence each reaction, but they do not guarantee a fully predictable result. Daily environmental changes can alter how a patina forms, keeping the method responsive.

“There is often a sense of ‘I did not see that coming,’” she says.

This unpredictability is one reason Bearinger continues working within abstraction. She can establish colors, shapes, and compositional parameters while allowing the chemistry to introduce outcomes she could not have designed precisely. The work develops through a mixture of control and reaction.

Her recurring imagery is connected to water, flow, sky, landscape, and fire. These references remain indirect. Rather than depicting a specific location, Bearinger uses color and movement to suggest natural forms without resolving them into literal scenes.

Bodies of water are a consistent source of inspiration. Her husband and sons are divers, and she is particularly interested in the colors of coral reefs. One work developed from an aerial view of Cabo Pulmo, a remote diving site in Mexico. The perspective allowed her to consider water, land, and shifting color as abstract relationships.

Architecture and landscape provide additional references. Bearinger describes seeing copper oxides throughout her surroundings, an observation that connects studio chemistry with changes already occurring in the built and natural environment.

Stephen Bruce has been an important friend and mentor. Bearinger values both his work and his commitment to connecting art and science for students through the Skidmore Project. His example reinforces her belief that scientific principles can support artistic inquiry without determining its outcome.

She also follows contemporary artists and craftspeople working with copper and related processes, including hammered copperware craftsman Jun Hatake and printmaker Juan Escudero, who uses copper masters. The work of Aboriginal artist Louise Numina Napananka has also influenced her visual thinking.

Bearinger cites Leonardo da Vinci, Ellsworth Kelly, Georgia O’Keeffe, Henri Matisse, Gustav Klimt, and Pablo Picasso among her broader influences. Their impact appears in her use of color, shape, and simplified natural forms. She is interested in work that maintains compositional structure while allowing some visual play.

Banksy’s treatment of art as something that can be temporary or unstable has influenced how Bearinger thinks about the continued development of her own surfaces. Some patinas change after completion. Blues may soften or fade, while other pieces undergo more visible transformations.

Bearinger accepts this evolution as part of the material. She does not regard every change as deterioration or failure. Because the work originates through an active chemical process, continued variation can remain consistent with its method.

Her first commission tested both her patience and her expectations. The client provided loose guidelines for color and form, but developing a satisfactory surface required an entire summer. Bearinger produced four pieces during the process.

She was initially concerned by the amount of time involved, but the project demonstrated that some reactions could not be accelerated without compromising the work. It also led her to discover a new range of colors that later expanded her palette.

The first piece in the series differed substantially from what she had intended. Bearinger considered it unsuccessful at the time, but it was later accepted into a juried exhibition. The experience changed how she evaluated unexpected results, particularly those produced by a process that cannot be controlled completely.

Her production schedule is partly determined by the weather. Winter is typically slower because colder conditions in Pennsylvania make it more difficult to initiate reactions. Bearinger uses this period to gather references, develop ideas, and plan future pieces.

She does not regard lower productivity as a creative crisis. A temporary reduction in studio activity can provide distance from the work and allow both the surface and the artist’s thinking to reset.

When actively developing a piece, Bearinger sets aside uninterrupted time for the copper and chemistry. A work may progress over several hours, days, or weeks. The schedule depends upon the reactions and the decisions required at each stage.

This method differs from the cycles of intense work that characterized her startup career, which sometimes resulted in burnout. Bearinger does not claim to have achieved a perfect balance, but planning and scaling back when necessary have made her current practice more sustainable.

Her goals for the work are relatively direct. She wants the compositions to create a sense of calm and give viewers time to experience the surface. She also hopes they prompt questions about the relationship between scientific and artistic processes.

Bearinger once expected to measure success primarily through commercial interest. Audience responses have changed that view. She now places greater value on moments when a work produces a clear emotional connection, whether through a collector’s decision, a change in visual preference, or an immediate response to a piece.

Her practice remains largely separate from current stylistic trends. In contrast to work shaped primarily through screens and algorithms, Bearinger focuses on physical materials, environmental conditions, and chemical reactions. The finished surfaces retain evidence of time, temperature, moisture, and direct material change.

Travel continues to provide new visual references. Bearinger is entering a period in which she can devote more attention to her own exploration, and she values the way unfamiliar destinations, people, and cultures interrupt routine and alter perception.

Although she remains aware of impostor syndrome and is cautious about offering general advice, Bearinger emphasizes conviction in the work an artist considers important. She has frequently been told that an idea would not work, could not be done, or would prove too difficult.

Her response is practical: she begins testing it.