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Art Gallery Exhibits

Gallery hours: 
Monday - Thursday: 9 a.m. - 8 p.m.
Friday: 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Gannon Gallery

Gannon Gallery

LEA Hall
2nd Floor
1400 Schafer St.

Dedicated in 1981 to the memory of Clell and Ruth Gannon, the Gannon Gallery is a light-filled space in BSC's new LEA Hall. Regional artists, student work and more rotate through this free public space throughout the year. 

About the Gannons

Clell Gannon was a naturalist, landscape painter, poet, editor-printer and historian. He was known for paintings of North Dakota scenes, including watercolor cover illustrations for Oscar Will Seed catalogs. He also wrote and illustrated the book, "How Christmas Came to North Dakota." Ruth was a long-time BSC Spanish and English teacher and poet. Both supported the arts and lived in a self-designed art house called "The Cairn."

2023-2024 Exhibition Schedule

Artist + Muse: Woodcuts and Poems

Woodcuts by Charles Beck from the Timothy Murphy Collection
Sponsored by the Rourke Art Gallery & Museum
Aug. 21 – Sept. 21

This project is supported in part by a grant from the North Dakota Council on the Arts, which receives funding from the state legislature and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Museum Inspiration
25 Morris Sunflowers by Linda Olson


Linda Olson
Oct. 1 – Nov. 11
Reception: Wednesday, October 18th
4-6 pm

I am a maker. I love making objects.
I get lost in the process, and I find getting lost the most important aspect of making.

Art objects in history and antiquity, and thus Museums, are a primary inspiration for my work. Chinese celadon vessels, Greek amphoras and Japanese tea bowls are some of the areas that inform my own ceramic making.

This project is supported in part by a grant from the North Dakota Council on the Arts, which receives funding from the state legislature and the National Endowment for the Arts.


Flow and Pop
 
Katie Vasbinder
Nov. 12 – Dec. 15
Reception: Wednesday, November 6th
4-6 pm

These abstract, flowing pieces are a release from the rigid, mathematical projects I’ve worked on practicing architecture. As an artist, I find calmness in the intangible energy around me, where my mind can escape, and my body can flow freely. These pieces are process-based, with an end result up to the journey taken and the viewer’s own perspective.

The painting pieces developed from layers of calming tones, diluted color, and free-flowing strokes. I encourage viewers to find forms within the pieces for their own imaginary wonder.

Flow and Pop by Katie Vasbinder

The ceramic pieces are also the result of continuous experimenting and play in my studio. I enjoy the endless ways you can create with clay and glaze. These particular pieces are made with marbling glaze through a bubble glaze technique. After a base coat of glaze is applied, a contrasting color is combined with soap and blown into bubbles that pop around the piece, leaving a marbled-like imprint. The result is an organic type of liquid air design. Placed on functional pieces, this technique creates an interesting juxtaposition between the practical and play.

I hope my pieces provide an escape for others as it does for me — find your flow and pop of life.

This project is supported in part by a grant from the North Dakota Council on the Arts, which receives funding from the state legislature and the National Endowment for the Arts.


Doom.banana

Arvin K. Davis Jr.
Jan. 8 – Feb. 16
Reception: Wednesday, February 7th
4-6 pm

Arvin Davis Jr. uses bright colors, strong brush strokes, detailed line work, and splatters. A variety of techniques are required to obtain work with a strong compositional and chromatic rigor; it is a contained chaos. He is a multifaceted illustrator and fine artist. He collaborates with his kids, other artist and also works alone. Suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, art allows him to process the emotions, traumas, and self-created pressures, thus becoming a real therapeutic path aimed at understanding himself and his feelings. Self-taught in mixed media: watercolors, inks, graphite, fluid acrylics, and standard acrylics.

This project is supported in part by a grant from the North Dakota Council on the Arts, which receives funding from the state legislature and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Century High School Exhibit
CHS Student Artwork


Feb. 26 – Mar. 26
Reception: Wednesday, March 20th
4-6 pm

This exhibit will feature works from Century High School Students. 
 

Juried Visual Art Student Exhibition
BSC Student Artwork


BSC Visual Art Students
Apr. 8 – May 3
Reception: Wednesday, April 24 | 4-6 pm

The gallery will feature the Juried Visual Art Student Exhibition with pieces from BSC visual art students.

Elsa Forde Gallery

Elsa Forde Gallery in Schafer Hall was dedicated in 1958 to the memory of Elsa Forde, charter organizer and board member of the Bismarck-Mandan Art Association and chair of its annual art show. The art association helped establish both galleries at BSC.