Past Exhibitions

Doktor Thrill is an enigma. Being the autobiographical and fictitious brainchild of retired Arizona State Painting Professor Earl Linderman, Doktor Thrill is a symbol saturated with wealth and a taste for lust and mystery. Constantly seeking passion, thrill, and beauty in Linderman’s fictional fantasy world, there are three women that are often found alongside the Doktor.

Inspired by Salvador Dali’s prints and the upcoming exhibition Salvador Dalí: Stairway to Heaven (on view December 19 – May 20 at Plains Art Museum), students and staff from participating universities will explore the theme “Interpretation of Dreams.”

The Virtual Art Auction Exhibition includes dozens of diverse, original and fascinating artworks made by some of the most talented and prolific contemporary artists from around the region.

(Un)common Threads features two adventurous printmakers’ work, both influenced by contemporary American culture, serigraphy, and the urge to break down barriers. With humor, imagination and exemplary skill, Katy Seals and John Charles Cox each create specific yet boundless worlds within their prints.

It has always been the case that BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) artists always wear two hats at any given time. That of the artist and that of the activist. Their art offers the richest insights into what moments of social justice they are empowering.

Fueling Modernity presents a comparative examination of industrial landscapes through documentary photographs and mixed media artworks. Both exhibiting artists have resided in regions that have been reshaped in response to natural resource extraction—in Western Cape, South Africa and North Dakota.

R.J. Kern’s photographic works can be unsettling – somehow both surreal and direct, light-hearted yet regal – as well as undeniably beautiful. The works from his series, The Unchosen Ones, expose subtleties in the human condition and honor the effort of the animals (and their handlers) who came in last place at ten Minnesota county fairs in 2016.

Your art museum is excited to present Salvador Dalí: Stairway to Heaven—the first major Salvador Dalí exhibition in North Dakota. Known as one of 20th Century’s foremost masters of Surrealism, Salvador Dalí (b.1904- 1989) has ignited the imagination of international viewers and artists for decades.

The exhibition will showcase new ceramic works by Guillermo Guardia, created since he moved to the Twin Cities in 2017.

In her second solo museum exhibition, artist Dyani White Hawk presents paintings, sculptural beaded works, video installation, printmaking, and photography.

Athena LaTocha (b. Anchorage, Alaska) is a Hunkpapa Lakota/Keweenaw Bay Ojibwe artist, currently living in New York. Buffalo Prairie (Slow Burn) is monumental ink wash drawing created by Athena LaTocha during her residency inside the Katherine Kilbourne Burgum Center for Creativity at Plains Art Museum May 2-June 4, 2019.

The North Dakota Human Rights Arts Festival is a traveling exhibition that welcomes 2D, 3D and live performance artists to explore human rights as defined by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Geneva Conventions and additional Protocols and other similar declarations and treaties.

Plains Art Museum is proud to host one of the region’s finest art auctions in conjunction with our Spring Gala. The auction is not only a great exhibition of contemporary art, but is your chance to build a collection and support the livelihoods of artists and your art museum as well.

Responsibilities and Obligations: Understanding Mitákuye Oyásʼiŋ features work by Clementine Bordeaux and Mary V. Bordeaux from Racing Magpie Gallery in Rapid City, South Dakota. Mitákuye Oyásʼiŋ is a phrase in the Lakota language and culture that loosely translates to “we are all related” or “all my relatives.”

City Geode, created and installed in May 2019 by students and Professor Josh Zeis from NDSU is the latest creation. In response to the work, the lead artists said, “What is a city? This City Geode incorporates many of the things that we thought a city needs; buildings, streets, electricity, drainage, and above all else, the human spirit.