Current Exhibitions
The Cyrus M. Running Gallery begins in the skyway that connects the Olin Art and Communications Center with the second floor of the Frances Frazier Comstock Theatre building.
Again and Again and Again
Thursday, Sept. 1-Thursday, Sept. 29
The installation, inspired by a workshop led by the artist Rotem Tamir, transforms the gallery space into a workshop-like setting, in which handwoven woolen floor pillows lay scattered on woodworking tables. It feels as if their makers had just recently left the scene, barely finishing their last hand on these objects.
The pillows are inspired by the research Tamir did on her own Libyan-Jewish heritage. They were created during group gatherings, in which members of this newly formed community could share their particular knowledge and ideas and tell stories while cooking natural dye, washing, hanging, stuffing, sewing, and tufting together.
Each pillow belongs to its maker, and it is borrowed from them with their permission for this exhibition. Once the exhibition is over, they will return to their owners and retain their practical purpose.
Tamir’s art focuses on traditions of object making and how they morph as they travel with their bearers through time and space, echoing the complex stories of relocation and shuffled identities. Although removed from their particular histories and geographies, her objects nonetheless pay homage to the traditions from which they emerged, revitalizing those as products of contemporary enquiries about places, belonging, and politics.
Tamir immigrated to the United States from Israel in 2011. Currently, she serves as the assistant professor in sculpture at the department of art at the University of Minnesota. Her work has been exhibited at venues including Law Warschaw Gallery, Minnesota; Locust Projects, Miami; the Harn Museum, Gainesville, Fla.; Kav 16 Community Gallery for Contemporary Art, Tel Aviv; BCA Center, Burlington, Vt.; Artists’ House, Tel Aviv; among others.
Tamir has been awarded residencies at Sculpture Space, Utica, N.Y.; Franconia Sculpture Park in Minnesota; and Art OMI International Arts Center; among others. She received the Toby Devan Lewis Fellowship award; the Artis Exhibition Grant from ArtisContemporary.org, New York, N.Y.; and recently the 2021 McKnight Fellowship for Visual Artists.
Public Reception: 4-5:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 1
Artist Remarks: 4:30 p.m.
The Recorded History Catalog
Tuesday, Oct. 4-Sunday, Nov. 20
Diana Behl and Andrew Kosten interpret the Intaglio medium in contrasting ways, using abstraction and representation to create landscapes, systems, and stories. The recorded history catalog explores where their concepts overlap — through time, place, and recorded or reimagined histories.
Diana Behl is an artist and educator based in Brookings, S.D. She holds an MFA and MA (2005/04) in printmaking from the University of Iowa, a BFA (2001) in two-dimensional and design studies from Bowling Green State University, and is an associate professor in the School of Design at South Dakota State University. Behl has received grants from the Bush and Griffith Foundations and the South Dakota Arts Council to support her artistic and teaching practices, which are rooted in traditional printmaking processes and works on paper. She has exhibited her work at the Greenleaf Gallery at Whittier College (Whittier, Calif.), The Contemporary Dayton (Dayton, Ohio), South Dakota Art Museum (Brookings, S.D.), and International Print Center New York (New York, N.Y.). She recently received a Summer Artist Development Program award through IPCNY and a residency fellowship at the Ucross Foundation in Wyoming.
After spending his formative years in Memphis, Tenn., Andrew Kosten received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in painting from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, in 2001. Upon discovering the potential of the medium of printmaking, Kosten pursued a Master of Fine Arts degree in printmaking from the University of South Dakota in 2005. From 2009 to 2013, Kosten taught drawing and printmaking at the University of Southern Indiana and Middle Tennessee State University. Kosten currently resides in Brookings, S.D., and specializes in intaglio and lithographic print media through his own print shop and studio, Gum Pal Press. His work has been shown in national and international juried exhibitions and is featured in numerous public and private collections. Kosten has received various awards and has works in a number of public and private collections across the country.
Public Reception: 4-5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 4
Artist Remarks: 4:30 p.m.
High School Art Show
Tuesday, Dec. 6-Tuesday, Jan. 17
This juried art exhibition showcases the diversity and creativity of student designers and artists from North Dakota and Minnesota high schools.
This year’s juror, Shelli Fenske, is a native North Dakotan who grew up in Marion. She enjoys the outdoors and, as a child, her family shared a love for riding and raising horses. Fenske has always had a love for art from a young age and even though she didn’t have the opportunity to take art courses, it didn’t deter her from choosing to follow her passion. Fenske attended Valley City State University, earning a degree in art education. Her first teaching position was in Dilworth, Minn., teaching middle school art. After the three schools of Dilworth, Glyndon, and Felton combined, her family moved to Glyndon, and she taught art at the high school level. Fenske offered many courses: drawing, painting, sculpture, ceramics, graphic design, photography (film-based and digital), and an advanced placement course in 2D Design. There was never a dull moment. Fenske retired in 2020 and since that time was a premier artist at Gallery 4 through July 2022. In Summer 2021, she became a board member working with the programming committee for the Fargo-Moorhead Visual Artists organization. She has most recently started a business called Yelo Bird Art. The first show was in October 2022 inviting artists to participate in a fall festival in Moorhead.
Public Reception: 5-6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 17
Juror Remarks: 5:30 p.m.
Faculty Art Exhibition
Tuesday, Jan. 24-Sunday, Feb. 19
This annual exhibition features the recent work of Concordia art faculty: Ross Hilgers, Chris Mortenson, Danielle Gravon, Dwight Mickelson, and Jessica Matson-Fluto. Faculty members work in a variety of media including clay, oil, painting, photography, printmaking, and sculpture.
Public Reception: 4-5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 24
Artist Remarks: 4:30 p.m.
Annual Juried Student Art Exhibition
Tuesday, March 21-Monday, April 10
The Concordia College art department would like to invite you to submit your artwork to the 2023 Juried Student Art Exhibition.
Experience firsthand the process of participating in a juried art exhibition where pieces will be hand-picked by this year's juror, Naomi RaMona Schliesman, and showcased from March 21 through April 10 in the Cyrus M. Running Gallery.
Naomi RaMona Schliesman is an award-winning interdisciplinary artist that has exhibited her artwork across the nation in museums, galleries, and universities. She received her BFA with an emphasis in sculpture from Minnesota State University Moorhead in 2004 and an MFA from the University of Wisconsin—Madison in 2009. Schliesman currently serves on the Public Arts Commission for the city of Fergus Falls, Minn.; the Fergus Falls Public Library’s Arts Advisory Committee; and multiple boards. She is an artist career consultant and facilitator of Work of Art Series for Springboard for the Arts, is the gallery curator at Lake Regions Arts Council Main Gallery, manages the arts calendar for nine counties, teaches art classes, and collaborates with artists and organizations nationwide.
Public Reception: 4-5:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 21
Awards Presentation: 4:30 p.m.
Senior Art Exhibition
Wednesday, April 19-Sunday, May 7
This exhibition features the art and design of seniors graduating in May 2023 with an art, art education, graphic design, or art history major.
Awards Announcement: During the Celebration of Student Scholarship event on Wednesday, April 19 (details TBA)
Public Reception: 5-6:30 p.m. Saturday, May 6
Special Saturday Hours: 10 a.m.-6:30 p.m. Saturday, May 6
Special Sunday Hours: 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Sunday, May 7