The South Dakota Art Museum is not a flashy, big money museum that you might find in New York or London, but they serve a core audience of locals and a wide variety of visitors. Their museum exhibits work from many artists with ties to South Dakota, including acclaimed painter Harvey Dunn, children's book author and illustrator Paul Goble and noted Native American artists such as Arthur Amiotte and Oscar Howe, as well as many emerging Native artists. They also seek out artists and traveling exhibitions that bring fresh and challenging perspectives from outside the state such as sculptors Richard Van Buren (Maine/NY) and Gisela Colon (CA), and Ojibwe painter Rabbett Before Horses Strickland (WI). Beyond that, they bring in thought-provoking, well-curated traveling showcases that anyone can enjoy, without pretension.
Their latest show, My Hero! Contemporary Art & Superhero Action is a traveling show curated by Carrie Lederer of the Walnut Creek, CA-based Bedford Gallery, to bring a variety of superhero-inspired works to the South Dakota Art Museum. The exhibit features the superhero figure analyzed from multiple angles, from Superman delivering pizzas and Batman sculpted from Terracotta, to hand-knit superhero costumes and a crocheted Spiderman.
About this exhibition, curator Carrie Lederer says: “For decades, artists have tapped the world of the superhero, eager to explore the alluring concept of what it means to have an avatar. We’re captivated by miraculous, superhuman strength, startling bravery, the enthralling adventures, and even their weaknesses. A number of artists are also asking: What happens when Superman gets old and checks into Assisted Living? What does he look like and what’s he up to?”
Check out My Hero! at the South Dakota Art Museum on the campus of the South Dakota State University, in Brookings, SD, from June 12, 2018 to October 2nd, 2018. You can also check out Bedford Gallery here.
National Artists Mike Alcantara (Austin, TX), Katherine Bradford (Brooklyn, NY), Enrique Chagoya (San Francisco, CA), Bill Concannon (Crockett, CA), Jeremy Fisher (Los Angeles, CA), Justin Hager (San Francisco, CA), Cheong-ah Hwang (Columbus, OH), Dave Laro (White River Junction, VT), Adam Lister (Beacon, NY), Mark Newport (Keego Harbor, MI), Aaron Noble (Los Angeles, CA), Jennie Ottinger (San Francisco, CA), Jenny Parks (Denver, CO), Dulce Pinzon (Brooklyn, NY), Peter and Madeline Powell (Maui, HI), Mel Ramos (Oakland, CA), Cheyenne Randall (Seattle, WA), Lizabeth Rossof (San Francisco, CA), Hannah Rothstein (San Francisco, CA), Samuel Rowlett (Western MA), Matt Ritchie (Castro Valley, CA), Steve Seeley (Chicago, IL), Rose Sellery, (Santa Cruz, CA), Inez Storer (Inverness, CA), Mark Todd (Sierra Madre, CA), Frank Trankina (Chicago, IL), Winston Tseng (New York, NY), Linda Vallejo (Topanga, CA), Dan Willner (Charlotte, NC), William Wray (Sierra Madre, CA), Jason Yarmosky (Brooklyn, NY), Maurizio Zuluaga (Jersey City, NJ)
International Artists Sandra Chevrier (Montreal, Quebec), Marcus D’Alfonso (Markham, Ontario), Andreas Englund (Stockholm, Sweden), Ole Marius Joergensen (Oslo, Norway), Graham Kirk (New Plymouth, New Zealand), Janis Markopoulos (Berlin, Germany), Foto Marvellini (Vercelli, Italy), Simon Monk (Essex, UK), Rémi Noël (Paris, France), Laurina Paperina (Rovereto, Italy), Alessandro Rabatti (Florence, Italy), Patricia Waller (Berlin, Germany)
