Past Exhibitions
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Dakota Modern: The Art of Oscar Howe
The acclaimed retrospective celebrating the lifeworks of Yanktonai Dakota artist Oscar Howe (1915 - 1983) culminates its national tour in Howe’s home state of South Dakota. -
Continuum: Honoring Oscar Howe's Legacy
South Dakota Art Museum curated exhibition of artworks by students of Oscar Howe and their students.
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South Dakota Governor’s 10th Biennial Art Exhibition
Biennial juried exhibition of some of South Dakota’s best artworks and greatest artists (South Dakota Art Museum is the opening venue) -
Marghab Linens
The museum has the largest, most comprehensive collection of Marghab Linens in the world. This collection is one of the founding collections of the museum. -
Flocks and Flights: Paul Goble Illustrations of Birds
Paul Goble illustrations depicting birds -
Guild Acquisitions
Works acquired with funds from the South Dakota Art Museum Guild
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Pose | Repose: Figurative Works from the Collections
Figurative works from the Permanent Collections -
The Buechel and Thorburn Collections
Buechel and Thorburn Collection works
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When Trees Dream
Curated by Rina Yoon and John Schuerman. -
Linger: Slow Looking with the Collection
Works by Fundingsland, Henning, the Laymen’s Guild of the Church of Jesus, Rosebud, Luckhart, Bob H. Miller, Paolozzi, and Wilke encourage us to linger.
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Harvey Dunn: Images of Family and Home
This exhibition features Harvey Dunn's depictions of family and home in their various forms. -
Making Relatives: Illustrations by Paul Goble
Paul Goble illustrations depicting family. -
Explore: Selections from the South Dakota Art Museum Collections
Discover old friends and new favorites as you peruse selections from the Museum's permanent collections.
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The Gift
Center for American Indian Research and Native Studies exhibit based on a traditional Lakotan narrative about White Buffalo Woman's gift of a sacred pipe to the Itazipco Oyate. -
Come Closer: Small Works from the Collection
A selection of smaller artworks from the permanent collection. -
The Legend of the White Buffalo Woman: Illustrations of Paul Goble
Paul Goble illustrations from "The Legend of the White Buffalo Woman." -
Harvey Dunn: Decades
Drawn from the collection of the South Dakota Art Museum, Harvey Dunn: Decades shares a chronological selection of 4 - 5 works from all five decades of Harvey Dunn’s career.
Image: Harvey Dunn, untitled (Lost in Desert, vultures gathering), oil on canvas, 1935 -
Jerry Fogg | 11 Degrees of Tatanka: Native Soul Art
Image: Gallery view of "Warriors" by Jerry Fogg -
Arc of Life: Illustrations by Paul Goble
"Arc of Life" explores different phases of life captured in Paul Goble’s books and illustrations.
Paul Goble, illustration from "Lone Bull's Horse Raid," 1973; Watercolor and ink painting of a horse drinking from the river. South Dakota Art Museum 1995.01.002J -
Compelling Visions: Selections from the Willem and Diane Volkersz Contemporary Folk Art Collection at the Missoula Art Museum
Image: Alva Gene Dexhimer, "Cat Sand," paint on chipboard, 1982.
Missoula Art Museum 016.19.06 -
Willem Volkersz: The View from Here | A 25 Year Retrospective
Image: Willem Volkersz, "Canadian Hero," 1995, neon, wood, found objects -
The Radiant Sun: Illustrations by Paul Goble
The sun is an important spiritual being in American Indian cosmologies. Revered by Plains Indians as a source of life and renewal, Goble’s suns and rays symbolize
it’s power and importance as well as harmony and unity. This exhibition shares some of the illustrations in which Goble’s sun makes an appearance.
Image: Paul Goble, illustration from "The Gift of the Sacred Dog." -
Martin Weinstein: Moment to Moment
Martin Weinstein’s paintings are created on layers of transparent acrylic sheets. A single work is composed of several distinct views of the same location painted days, months, even years apart.
Image: "Trawden, Stormy Mornings" © Martin Weinstein 2016, acrylic on multiple acrylic sheets
Exhibition organized through Katharine T. Carter & Associates. -
ALL DUNN: The Complete Harvey Dunn Collection
They’re back! All the Dunns, 142 works, altogether in one gallery and on extended display in honor of our 50th anniversary.
Image: Harvey Dunn, "The Prairie is My Garden" -
Recent Acquisitions: 2016 – 2021
Artworks in this exhibition joined the museum's collection between 2016 and 2021. Although recently acquired their dates of creation range from c. 1899 – 2019.
Image: Grete Bodøgaard, "Badlands," wool, cotton, linen weaving, 1986 -
Lowell Nesbitt: Florals
This series of floral silkscreens by Lowell Nesbitt (1933 – 1993) are drawn from the South Dakota Art Museum’s Cockerline Collection of fine art prints from the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.
Image: "Red Spotted Lily (from the Stamp Series)." silkscreen, 1981 -
The Cathy and Ken Vogele Collection
Stunning traditional American Indian artistry will be on display in this show of recent donations from Cathy and Ken Vogele.
Image: Wife of Martin Shangreaux (Oglala Sioux Tribe), untitled (ceremonial moccasins) -
South Dakota Governor’s 9th Biennial Art Exhibition
This exhibition shares some of South Dakota’s best artworks and greatest artists at multiple exhibiting institutions across the state through the course of the one-year traveling show. -
PAST - PRESENT: Recent Acquisitions in Abstraction
Recent acquisitions from current South Dakota State University faculty intermingle with past faculty. Works by former SDSU students intermingle with works from past solo exhibition artists.
Image: Peter Reichardt, "BOO!" -
Into the Great Unknown: Illustrations by Paul Goble
This selection of illustrations by Paul Goble features multiple stories of people setting out on difficult journeys into the unknown, and the leap of faith required to do so.
Image:
Illustration from "Death of the Iron Horse," 1987
watercolor and ink on paper
Collection of the South Dakota Art Museum, 1995.01.010G
Gift of Paul and Janet Goble. -
50 Works for 50 Years: Collections Retrospective
In celebration of our 50th anniversary this collections retrospective will share acquisitions from each of the 50 years the South Dakota Art Museum has been in existence.
Image: Mel Spinar, "Hilton M. Briggs and Elmer H. Sexauer" -
Harvey Dunn: Imagining Others
This exhibition celebrates Dunn’s desire to fully and deeply render truths about humanity.
Image: Harvey Dunn, "The Return" oil on canvas, n.d. -
Articles of a Treaty: An Educational Exhibit About the 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty
This educational art exhibit from the Center for American Indian Research and Native Studies (CAIRNS) focuses on the articles of the 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty between the “different bands of the Sioux Nation of Indians” and the United States. -
ABSTRACTION: Eight South Dakotans
This exhibition celebrates the current practice of non-objective abstraction in South Dakota through the works of eight of the state’s top artists.
Image: Diana Behl, "is only" -
Billie Grace Lynn: White Elephants
This inflatable sculptural installation by Billie Grace Lynn features a grouping of three life-sized inflatable white elephants. -
Amir Fallah: What It Means to be an American
This is an installation of Amir Fallah’s stained and fused glass portrait of an immigrant, "Offerings," housed in a domestic structure. It features audio recordings of American immigrants talking about what being an American means to them. -
1 Roof 2 Airs
Co-curated by John Schuerman and Katayoun Amjadi, 1 Roof 2 Airs shares the artwork of ten US-based artists with personal histories from countries experiencing conflict in the Greater Middle East.
Image: Nooshin Hakim Javadi, "Life is the Aggregation of All Moments of Desire" -
Afghan War Rugs: The Modern Art of Central Asia
Co-curated by Dr. Annemarie Sawkins and Enrico Mascelloni, Afghan War Rugs: The Modern Art of Central Asia brings to the United States one of the most distinct collections of Afghan war rugs in the world.
Image: Afghan War Rugs, Portrait Rug- Ahmad Shah Massoud, Knotted Wool, Afghanistan (dated 2000) -
Laura Heit: Two Ways Down
"Two Ways Down" is an installation pairing projected animation with thrown shadows cast from rotating paper dioramas.
Image: "Two Ways Down" installation detail -
Laura Heit: Films
Laura Heit employs stop-motion, live-action puppetry, hand drawing, and computer animation in the selection of short films on view.
Image: screen from "The Deep Dark", 2011 -
A Life's Work: Paul Goble Illustrations of American Indian Stories
This traveling exhibit is a celebration of Goble’s life and career. The exhibit represents a small collection of his complete works but it provides visitors with the opportunity to enjoy artworks from different books and from different stages of his career.
Image: collage of selected Paul Goble illustrations -
S.D. Nelson: Sharing My Vision
"S.D. Nelson: Sharing My Vision" presents a selection of original artworks by this award-winning author and illustrator.
Image: S.D. Nelson, "Black Elk's Vision 2" -
Harvey Dunn: Fences, Cows, Plows and Oxen
Present in nearly half of Dunn works in our collection, fences, cows, plows and oxen were a common feature of the subsistence lifestyle that South Dakota's settlers relied on in the pioneering era of Dunn's youth. This exhibition celebrates these prairie paintings and the roots of South Dakota's agricultural heritage.
Image: Harvey Dunn, "Just a Few Drops of Rain" -
Flourish: Marjolein Dallinga and Jantje Visscher
Jantje Visscher uses light energy as a drawing material, creating installations on the wall out of focused light and reflections. Marjolein Dallinga creates felted sculptures and wearable art of intricate pattern and rich texture and color. The drama of organic unfolding is alive in the works of both of these artists, and comes together in strikingly beautiful and surprising ways in this first ever joint exhibition.
Image: Marjolein Dallinga (Canadian), "Mature Tongue," felt, 2016. Image © Lucien Lisabelle. -
Ripple Effects: Artworks from the Permanent Collection
These artworks from the South Dakota Art Museum Permanent Collection reflect elemental natural wave forms in their patterns and designs. More than just a design motif, many of these works speak to the spiritual qualities and connective potency of these forms and patterns.
Image: Wu Chien Lem, "Filling What's Empty," 1978 -
Topsy-Turvy IKTOMI: Illustrations of Paul Goble
This exhibition features Paul Goble’s illustrations of Iktomi stories. Iktomi is the Lakota name for the American Indian trickster, who appears in the stories of peoples all over the North American continent. He is famous for getting into mischief, causing trouble, and never learning the lessons handed out to him.
Image: Paul Goble, illustration from "Iktomi and the Buffalo Skull" -
South Dakota Governor’s 8th Biennial Art Exhibition
The South Dakota Governor’s Biennial is designed “to recognize and encourage South Dakota artists, to promote the artistic identity of South Dakota, to celebrate the cultural and artistic heritage and future of South Dakota, and to encourage a larger sense of community and connection across separate artistic communities within the state.” -
Harvey Dunn: War Works
November 11, 2018 marks the 100 year anniversary of the signing of the armistice that ended combat in World War I. This exhibition commemorates the anniversary of the end of the war with a series of artworks created by celebrated South Dakota artist Harvey Dunn.
Image: Harvey Dunn, "Oliver Staggered Over and Entered Major Worsley's Quarters," 1927 -
Takuwe
The title for this exhibit from the Center for American Indian Research and Native Studies is one Lakota word: "Takuwe." In English: "Why." The focus of the exhibit is the 1890 massacre of Lakotas at Wounded Knee, but it doesn’t begin or end with the killings. Its intent is to begin with positives and to close with a call to action.
Image: Keith BraveHeart, "Wowicala Iciwayankapi" -
Rooted, Revived and Reinvented: Basketry in America
Curated by the National Basketry Organization in collaboration with the Museum of Art and Archaeology at the University of Missouri, ninety-three objects in this exhibition provide an historical overview of American basketry from its origins in Native American, immigrant, and slave communities to its presence within the contemporary fine art world. -
Heroes, Saviors and Triumphs: Illustrations by Paul Goble
This exhibition of Paul Goble illustrations features stories of triumph and the heroes—both mortal and supernatural—who save the day. -
My Hero! Contemporary Art and Superhero Action
This exhibition, organized by Bedford Gallery in Walnut Creek, CA, presents a sprawling collection of international artworks in a variety of media that celebrates and re-envisions the lives of iconic superheroes. -
The Sea and the Land and the Sky: Harvey Dunn and Ada Caldwell
Ada Caldwell
"Rocky Mountain Landscape"
oil on board, n.d.
South Dakota Art Museum Collection 1977.03.06 -
South Dakota Art Museum Stories: #MySDAMStory
Lives changed by experiences at the South Dakota Art Museum—through artwork, people, reflection and recognition—these are the stories we will share here. Your stories!
 | Death of the Iron Horse: Illustrations by Paul GobleMarch 1 - July 10, 2016 |
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Crying for a Vision (Hanbleceya): A Fluid Odyssey in GlassWorks by Angela BabbySeptember 29, 2015 - February 27, 2016 |
| Harvey Dunn's Feminine ImagesSeptember 29, 2015 - February 27, 2016 |
| Landscapes: From the Illustrations of Paul GobleSeptember 4, 2015 - March 1, 2016
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| Liminal SurrenderCathryn MallorySeptember 22, 2015 - February 13, 2016 |
| Unframing Lands ViewGregory EuclideAugust 11, 2015 - January 30, 2016 |
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Illustrations by Paul Goble: Images of LoveOctober 14, 2014 - March 16, 2015 |
 | Carol Brown GoldbergJanuary 27 - April 19, 2015
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Masters of the Golden Age: Harvey Dunn & His Students |
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NO HOLDS BARRED: Experiments of William Weege |
| Harvey Dunn's Women in RedJanuary 27 - April 19, 2015 |
| Above and Below: Reflections in the Illustrations of Paul GobleMarch 20 - August 30, 2015
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 | Heart to Heart (Artist Couples)January 13 - April 26, 2015 |
 | Cast & Crew: The Sculptures and Film of Jerry BarrishOctober 21, 2014 - February 22, 2015 |
 | Harvey Dunn: The Complete CollectionAugust 16, 2014 - January 11, 2015 |
 | South Dakota Governor's 6th Biennial Art ExhibitionSeptember 30, 2014 - January 4, 2015 |
 | Lakota Arts + IdentitiesSeptember 2, 2014 - January 11, 2015 |
 | Shannon Sargent: Objects Found for the Purpose of UnderstandingMay 20 - October 12, 2014 |
 | Illustrations by Paul Goble: Under the Blanket of NightApril 22 - October 5, 2014 |
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Without a NetRobert C. JacksonExhibit sponsor: Dr. David & Patricia Meyer |
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Gerald Cournoyer: Walking with a Dream (Yuha Hanble Omani)Exhibit sponsors: |
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People and Places: Paintings and Sculptures from the CollectionsMarch 25 - August 24, 2014 |
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Howard Pyle and Harvey Dunn: Teacher and StudentExhibit sponsor: Bowes Construction April 8 - August 3, 2014 |
 | Glow Pop ArtBob H. MillerExhibit Sponsor: Harms Oil |
 | Oscar HoweHorses, with permission of the Oscar Howe Family May 21, 2013 - June 1, 2014 |
 | Oblique LegaciesStephen BraunJanuary 14 - May 11, 2014 |