About The Artist

Ten’s Biographical Information Ten’s first encounter with notoriety came the day of his birth. His mother would often tell how he entered this world in the wee hours of the morning on Pentecost Sunday (June 8, 1930), while a severe thunderstorm raged and ravaged the countryside. 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. This took place in the isolated, rural area of Marienberg in the province Overijssel in the Netherlands. That very same night, two heifers were struck by lightening within a mile’s distance from the ten Broeke home, and killed. Ten arrived in the United States in 1955 as a young man. While working as a drug designer with some of the greatest minds in organic chemistry, Ten never neglected his career in art. He was an active member of the vibrant, revolutionary art scene that electrified Greenwich Village in the late ‘50s and ‘60s, where he earned the admiration and friendship of many of the scene’s most influential members. Although that dynamic era in art was squelched by profit-driven galleries and mediocrity, Ten has had many domestic and international shows and honors. Ten consistently garners enthusiastic praise for his entirely unique “biomorphic” imaginings, rendered with perfect technique, brushwork and style. Throughout his career Jan ten Broeke has been known and recognized by his simple nom de brosse, “Ten”. Ten resides with his wife in the historical village of East Millstone, NJ, in a Dutch Colonel farmhouse that was built in 1763. They are both highly active in local environmental and historical preservation initiatives. They has two grown daughters: Yannie living in New York City and Diena living with her family in Point Pleasant Beach, NJ. Ten's Sensualist Art in historic context: click on Paleolithic Sexuality http://ten_ten.tripod.com/index-71.html and http://members.tripod.com/~Ten_Ten/index-7.html Since the dawn of consciousness humans have enhanced natural phenomena : http://members.tripod.com/~Ten_Ten/index-22.html and http://ten_ten.tripod.com/index-71.html