The Visual Arts Center has been host to exhibitions ranging from noted South Dakota artists to Andy Warhol and Rodin. Here are some of the past exhibitions that have visited one of our seven galleries.
December 9, 2017 - March 31, 2018
Visual Arts Center | Contemporary Gallery
Lakota storytelling from South Dakota’s pre-eminent ledger artist. The works of noted Oglala Lakota ledger artist Donald F. Montileaux are a journey through the complex art forms and storytelling of the Lakota people. Warriors, horses, buffalo and tipis in reds, blues, greens, yellows and oranges are blended, rubbed and polished on antique ledger pages. Donald Montileaux was inducted into the South Dakota Hall of Fame in 2014; he lives and works in Rapid City, SD.
Dec. 2, 2017 - Mar. 18, 2018 | Shultz Gallery: Featuring Local Artists
Free First Friday Celebration: December 1, 2017
Espresso. Sugar. Friendship. For more than two decades, Connie Herring has been visiting with friends and loved ones over plates of tiramisu, and recording the experience in her journals. For this exhibition, Herring transforms her memories into a room-sized installation. Handmade books and pools of ribbon reminiscent of whipped cream will line the Shultz Gallery walls, inviting us to remember our own dinners with friends. Herring earned her MFA from the University of South Dakota; she works in her studio near Sioux Falls, SD.
Sept. 30, 2017 - Jan. 15, 2018 | Everist Gallery
Free First Friday Celebration: October 6, 2017
South Dakota’s finest art. This juried exhibition is the premier showcase for artists currently living and working in South Dakota. Celebrating the artistic innovations of South Dakotan artists, this travelling biennial exhibition and its catalog serve as historical records, documenting the work of the state’s most important and innovative contemporary artists.
Aug. 12 - Dec. 3, 2017 | Contemporary Gallery
Free First Friday Celebration: September 1, 2017
Midwestern Living. Using painting, printmaking and digital imaging, Emily Stokes presents goodnatured satirical images of country life from the viewpoint of someone new to the joys and challenges of rural life. She holds a BA from Wellesley College and received her MFA in printmaking from Arizona State University. Emily Stokes lives and works in Orange City, IA, where she teaches as an Assistant Professor of Art at Northwestern College.
Aug. 5 - Nov. 26, 2017 | Shultz Gallery: Featuring Local Artists
Free First Friday Celebration: August 4, 2017
The Vermeer of Sioux Falls. Nationally recognized and collected, local artist Anna Youngers explores the time-honored artistic themes of the human figure and the still life in a series of richly detailed oil paintings, revealing beauty in both the common and the extraordinary. With her classical atelier training, Youngers’ paintings allude to the work of the Renaissance and Baroque masters. Anna Youngers lives and works in Sioux Falls, SD.
July 29, 2017 - Jan. 8, 2018 | Corner Gallery
World-class video art. Internationally acclaimed artists Ann Hamilton and William Kentridge explore the mindfulness that accompanies monotony in video artworks on loan from the prestigious Spencer Museum of Art in Lawrence, Kansas. In these timebased artworks, a miniature camera explores the intricacy of the repetitive motion of sewing and animated charcoal drawings capture the intersection of writing and drawing.
July 15, 2017 - TBD | Egger Gallery
Inspiring action. Today’s Northern Plains Tribal artists use art to explore and comment on our nation’s history and current events. In this exhibition, works from the Permanent Collection of the Visual Arts Center by nationally prominent Northern Plains Tribal artists such as David Paul Bradley and Oscar Howe join artwork by select contemporary Native artists for a visual conversation on the capacity of art to inspire action.
July 8, 2017 - Jan. 7, 2018 | Permanent Collection Gallery
From the artist to the museum. A provenance is the story of the ownership of an artwork. Join us as we share the surprising stories behind some of the artworks in our Permanent Collection, as well as the stories of works by Harvey Dunn on loan from collectors with roots in Sioux Falls. See how art makes its way from artists to collectors and museums!
July 1 - Oct. 15, 2017 | Jerstad Gallery
Free First Friday Celebration: July 7 , 2017
Farmer. Teacher. Artist. Paul Peterson’s dreamlike landscapes reimagine traditional landscape painting through the lens of Peterson’s experience as an artist and farmer in South Dakota. Peterson’s work has been featured at the South Dakota Art Museum, as well as in the South Dakota Governor’s Biennial. Peterson has taught art at Freeman Academy and Black Hills State University; he currently lives and works in western South Dakota
Experience Origami
May 5 - June 11, 2017 | Everist Gallery - East
Free First Friday Celebration: June 2, 2017
Become an origami artist! Join local Japanese-American artist Reina Okawa, the artist behind the famous origami cranes installation in the lobby of the Washington Pavilion, to learn more about origami and add your artistic voice to a collaborative origami mural in our Everist Gallery.
Above the Fold
June 24 - Sept. 16, 2017 | Everist Gallery
The international traveling exhibition of the world’s best origami. Above the Fold is the first traveling exhibition to bring origami installations from around the world to North American audiences. In this exhibition, nine international artists push the boundaries of paper as a medium to create bold, provocative works. Paper is transformed into breathtaking sculpture, large-scale installations and conceptual works that express contemporary social, political and aesthetic ideas.
Above the Fold is curated by Meher McArthur and tour organized by International Arts & Artists, Washington, D.C.
Apr. 22 - July 30, 2017 | Shultz Gallery: Featuring Local Artists
Free First Friday Celebration: June 2, 2017
Drawing connections. J. Charles Cox’s large-scale drawings invite us to explore how we navigate the social connections created by our relationships and travels—both in our physical lives and in our digital personas. Layered lines evoke the traffic of daily commutes and the never-ending stream of digital communication that is part of twenty-first century life. Cox earned his MFA from the University of South Dakota and is currently an Instructor of Visual Arts at Minnesota State Community and Technical College in Fergus Falls, Minnesota.
Apr. 15 - Aug. 6, 2017 | Contemporary Gallery
Free First Friday Celebration: May 5, 2017
Paint splashes brilliantly across large canvases. In these delicate and dense paintings, Teresa Dunn explores the profound change in her world view and the way she makes paintings since becoming a mother. More aware of the ephemeral nature of life and experience, her paintings tap into shifts in light, time and perceptions. Dunn received her MFA from Indiana University Bloomington, and is currently an Associate Professor of Painting at Michigan State University.
Feb. 25 - June 25, 2017 | Jerstad Gallery
Free First Friday Celebration: March 3, 2017
Painting outside the rectangle. Brian Frink’s brightly colored shaped canvases reflect the magical qualities he observes in the land of rural Minnesota. Poured and splattered paint alludes to natural forces such as rain, wind and gravity. Repeated speckles and lines evoke the texture of mist, soil and plants. Frink completed his MFA at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and is currently Chairperson of the Department of Art at Minnesota State University, Mankato.
Feb. 11 - June 11, 2017 | Everist Gallery—West
Free First Friday Celebration: March 3, 2017
Super 2nd Saturday Printmaking Demonstration: Feb. 11, 2017
Inside every artist is a collector. Encounter the work of Carl Grupp, one of South Dakota’s preeminent artists, in the context of the artwork he collects from other artists. In this exhibition, Grupp’s playful printmaking joins the paintings, prints and sculptures with which he surrounds himself in his home for a new look at a wellknown artist. Grupp completed his MFA at Indiana University Bloomington, and is professor emeritus of art at Augustana University, where he taught art from 1969-2004.
Feb. 4 - July 21, 2017 | Corner Gallery
Free First Friday Celebration: Feb. 3, 2017
Walk inside a work of art. Marie Bannerot McInerney materializes the shifting nature of memory through a site-specific installation built around light. As you walk through a forest of hanging lightbulbs, your movement causes the light to change and reflect off of a Mylar-covered ceiling. McInerney earned her MFA from Washington University in St. Louis, and is currently an Assistant Professor in the Fiber Department at the Kansas City Art Institute.
Feb. 4 - Apr. 23, 2017 | Everist Gallery - East
Free First Friday Celebration: Feb. 3, 2017
Sioux Falls’ Premier Art Auction and Fundraiser. The 2017 Arts Night exhibition, REPRESENT, pays homage to the participating artists who positively impact the local art scene and the Visual Arts Center, culminating in a live art auction and gala on April 29, 2017. This juried exhibition features diverse media and styles. See landscapes, portraits and abstract artworks, as well as paintings, sculptures and photography from local artists and artists supporting the Visual Arts Center from across the miles.
Jan. 14 - July 2, 2017 | Permanent Collection Gallery
Super 2nd Saturday | Hipster Fashion Show: March 11, 2017
Visit this exhibition before it’s cool. Today’s hipsters are known for beards, flannel and following their own paths. The spirit of twenty-first century hipsterism, however, is not new. We combed our collection for art that breaks the mold and resonates with the contemporary hipster mindset. From early twentieth century paintings by L. Lova Jones to mid-century prints by Adolf Dehn, see the original hipsters in action.
Dec. 31, 2016 - July 9, 2017 | Egger Gallery
Reception: Friday, April 7, 2017
Welcome the new artists in our collection! Our collection of artwork by contemporary Northern Plains Tribal artists is growing! In this exhibition, recent acquisitions of artworks by James Star Comes Out, Todd Bordeaux, Henry Payer, Keith BraveHeart and Donald Montileaux join select paintings, beadwork and garments by the artists. See new works from some of the region’s most dynamic emerging and established artists in the context of the Visual Arts Center’s Collection of Northern Plains Tribal Art.
Dec. 12, 2015 - April 10, 2016 | Contemporary Gallery
Reception: Friday, December 11, 2015
Consisting of approximately 300 individual ceramic pieces, this installment of Ned Day’s Loopapalooza is the largest incarnation of the project yet. Day’s loops have traveled around the U.S., most recently appearing in Providence, Rhode Island. Ned Day, a ceramicist and sculptor, received his MFA from the University of Nebraska at Kearney and teaches at the Great Plains Art Institute at Sinte Gleska University.
Dec. 12, 2015 - March 6, 2016 | Shultz Gallery
Reception: Friday, December 11, 2015
In vibrant watercolors, Barbara Sparks depicts the reflections she sees in the everyday sights of Sioux Falls—motorcycles, downtown storefronts, her garden—as well as in imagery from her sailboat, where she spends five months of each year in the Caribbean. Sparks moved to Sioux Falls from Colorado. Before studying watercolors, she worked in pottery and pursued a successful career in executive management.
Jan. 16 - July 10, 2016 | Permanent Collection Gallery
Using pieces from the Permanent Collection of the Visual Arts Center, this exhibition creates a visual representation of Badger Clark’s poem, “The Free Wind,” through artists including Bob Aldern, Sheila Agee and Mary Groth. Badger Clark was appointed the first Poet Laureate of South Dakota in 1937. Clark’s cowboy poetry is known for its rhythmic cadence and vivid depiction of life in the American West
Feb. 6 - June 12, 2016 | Jerstad Gallery
Reception: February 5, 2016, 5-7 p.m. | Concert: 7:30pm, Belbas Theater
In Echo Lines, Bruce Preheim explores new territory in a series of abstracted and nonrepresentational works juxtaposed with the figurative pieces for which he is most known. Preheim’s gestural mark-making yields paintings with a strong sense of rhythm. A seasoned musician as well as a painter, Preheim received his MA from West Virginia University and completed further graduate work at the University of South Dakota.
Feb. 13 - July 31 | Aug. 6 - Jan. 15, 2016 | Egger Gallery
View a selection of artwork created by contemporary Northern Plains Tribal artists. The Egger Gallery features two rotating exhibitions of Northern Plains Tribal Art in 2016, drawing inspiration from the Permanent Collection of the VAC and featuring artwork on loan from local collectors and other institutions. See favorites from the Permanent Collection including works by Oscar Howe and Arthur Amiotte in dialogue with contemporary and historical artworks.
Feb. 20 - May 22 | Everist & Corner Galleries
Reception: March 4, 2016
The VAC, in partnership with Argus Leader Media, presents this feature exhibition exploring the art of photojournalism. Featured photographers Joe Ahlquist, Elisha Page, Jay Pickthorn and Emily Spartz Weerheim convey the stories of our community through photography. Experience photos of everyday life in Sioux Falls, as well as photos of pivotal moments in the news alongside commentary from the photographers who captured these funny, tragic, beautiful, and emotional images.
Feb. 27 - May 1 | Everist Gallery
Reception: Friday March 4, 2016
The 2016 Arts Night exhibition, In the Making: Sustaining the Arts for 55 Years, pays homage to the participating artists and community that have continually supported the Visual Arts Center over the years. This juried exhibition features diverse media and artists from near and far, and culminates in a live auction and gala on May 7, 2016.
March 12 - June 5 | Shultz Gallery
Reception: Friday April 1, 2016
Nostalgia and childhood fun permeate Lamont Hunt’s fanciful character illustrations. Hunt depicts imagination in action; in his illustrations, children embody their pop culture heroes. View Hunt’s animation reel alongside his illustrations, and go behind the scenes of the process of turning sketches into illustrations and animation. A South Dakota native, Lamont Hunt now works as an illustrator and animator in the Los Angeles area.
April 16 - Aug. 7 | Contemporary Gallery
Reception: Friday, May 6, 2016
Our Natures consists of two large printmaking and fiber installations that explore the interaction between human knowledge and the natural world. Visitors are invited to meander through these installations, and become encompassed by botanical imagery and layered audio features, including QR codes. Lena Ellis-Boatman, a printmaker residing in Howell, Michigan, received her MFA from Michigan State University.
May 28 - Aug. 28 | Everist Gallery
Reception: Friday, June 3, 2016
This exhibition includes 19 large-format portraits of some of the most fascinating celebrity members of the influential baby boom generation captured by renowned American photographer Timothy Greenfield-Sanders. Experience a scent station and a touch-screen with behind-the-scenes videos of the photo shoots. This exhibition comes to the VAC on loan from the Newseum in Washington, D.C.
May 28 - Sept. 10 | Corner Gallery
Reception: Friday, June 3, 2016 | Gallery Talk: Saturday, Sept. 10, 2016
In Spatial Play, Steven Stradley’s paintings activate the periphery of the gallery—the edges, the ceiling, the floor. Through a site-specific installation, Stradley highlights architectural features that often go unnoticed, such as light switches and vents. Stradley received his MFA from Michigan State University and currently teaches at Tuacahn High School for the Performing Arts and Dixie State University in St. George, Utah.
June 11 - Sept. 4 | Shultz Gallery
Reception: Friday, July 1, 2016
See familiar buildings and scenes of Sioux Falls rendered with a draftsman’s eye for detail and a sensitivity to the play of light in this exhibition of Jim Sturdevant’s oil and watercolor paintings. Sturdevant’s landscapes and architectural portraits lovingly depict the landmarks and neighborhoods of Sioux Falls. A native of Sioux Falls, Jim Sturdevant still calls this city home.
June 18 - Oct. 16 | Jerstad Gallery
Reception: Friday, July 1, 2016
Anna Reich works at the intersection of documentary and fine art photography. In No One Asked Us, Reich presents her photographs of Post-Soviet Lithuania and Latvia as physical documents of cultural and collective memory. Anna Reich received her MFA from the Milton Avery School of Art at Bard College and teaches as an Assistant Professor of art photography and art education at Augustana University.
July 16 - Jan. 8 | Permanent Collection Gallery
Visit the Permanent Collection Gallery for an experience that engages the imagination and the senses. Artworks selected from the Permanent Collection of the VAC will appeal to the sense of touch through real and implied texture, as well as the senses of sight, taste, and smell through colorful abstract works that evoke the experiences of life. Customized sound elements complete the exhibition experience, and invite viewers to consider what sounds static artworks would make if they could speak. The artists featured in this exhibition include Mel Spinar and Carl Grupp.
Aug. 13 - Dec. 4 | Contemporary Gallery
Reception: Friday, October 7, 2016
Local collectors Jerome and Mary Freeman have been collecting the work of regional artists for over 30 years. The Freeman Collection contains sculptures and paintings, as well as a substantial collection of bolo ties created by silversmiths, artisans, Native artists, and local artists who recognized Jerome’s inclination to wear bolo ties. The Freemans live near Brandon, South Dakota.
Sept. 10 - Jan. 29 | Everist Gallery
Reception: Friday, October 7, 2016
Walk among sculptural sea creatures as Steve Bormes transforms the largest gallery of the VAC into an over 4,000-square-foot aquarium. Bormes constructs his assemblage sculptures from found objects like vintage boat motors, potato ricers and Turkish butter churns. Lighting elements bring Bormes’s sea creatures to brilliant life. Steve Bormes received his BS in Biology and Math from the University of South Dakota, and lives and works in Sioux Falls.
Sept. 10 - Dec. 11 | Shultz Gallery
Reception: Friday, October 7, 2016
Terry Mulkey’s subtle abstract paintings create dialogue between shapes and marks, suggesting vulnerability, motion and change. Mulkey received his BA degree from the University of Sioux Falls, and his MFA from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He was an Assistant Professor of Art and the Art Department Chair at the University of Sioux Falls for four years. Terry Mulkey resides in Arizona and maintains close ties with the Sioux Falls art community.
Sept. 24 - Jan. 22 | Corner Gallery
Reception: Friday, October 7, 2016
In this video installation, Walter Portz reflects on the process of ushering a loved one into the afterlife. Layering imagery, audio and original poetry drawn from memories of losing his father to a long illness, Portz’s large-scale video projections evoke the otherworldliness of memory and loss. He received his BA in photography from the University of Minnesota and now lives and works in Sioux Falls. Walter Portz has been working in professional photography for twelve years
Oct. 22 - Feb. 19 | Jerstad Gallery
Reception: Friday, November 4, 2016
Drawing from literary sources and the history of the Great Plains and the American West, T.L. Solien creates colorful mixed media collages and paintings. A native of Fargo-Moorhead, Solien received his MFA from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and currently teaches as a Professor of Art at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Earlier in his career, Solien worked in a studio on Phillips Avenue in downtown Sioux Falls.
Dec. 10 - April 9 | Contemporary Gallery
Reception: Friday, February 3, 2017
Inspired by Ceca Cooper’s travels and studies of nature, the paintings in Elsewhere and Here explore a range of artistic styles, from the design sensibilities of ancient Arabic works in Marrakech, to the works of the Catalan architect, Antoni Gaudí. Ceca Cooper received her MFA from the University of South Dakota, and currently teaches as an Associate Professor of Art at the University of Sioux Falls.
Dec. 4 - March 6 | Entrance Gallery
Reception: Friday, December 4, 2015
PostSecret: The Pop-Up Exhibition gives viewers a close look at PostSecret, the internationally recognized public art project in which people confess their secrets on postcards, anonymously. The postcards displayed in the Visual Arts Center represent the broad range of funny, unsettling, and devastating secrets shared by contributors to PostSecret. The content of this exhibition is best suited for mature audiences.