Cooper’s work featured at Washington Pavilion and South Dakota Art Museum

March 30, 2017

For some colorful excitement this spring, look no further than Elsewhere and Here, Blood Run I and Omphalos.

These works of art are the latest achievements of prolific South Dakota artist and University of Sioux Falls Associate Professor of Art Ceca Cooper.

Currently on display at the Washington Pavilion’s Visual Arts Center, Elsewhere and Here features a combination of photographs, oil paint, asphalt, tar, metal and cast tiles from concrete and plaster.

According to Assistant Curator at the Visual Arts Center Sarah Odens ‘12, who studied under Cooper, this is Cooper’s second solo exhibition at the Visual Arts Center.

“The artworks in this exhibition are a synthesis of Ceca’s observations of nature, architecture and her own memories made in South Dakota and across the ocean in the Mediterranean,” Odens said. “The materials encourage viewers to notice the connections between nature and the architecture and design we encounter in our daily lives, as well as how design travels from place to place and culture to culture.”

Part of the South Dakota Governor’s 7th Biennial Art Exhibition, which documents the work of the state’s most important and innovative contemporary artists, Blood Run I is on display at the South Dakota Art Museum in Brookings, South Dakota.

“Blood Run I is a fairly abstract piece, referring to my walks, snow shoeing and cross country skiing on Blood Run Trail in Sioux Falls during winter months,” Cooper said.

Also featured at the South Dakota Art Museum in the Women at Work: South Dakota Artists exhibit is Omphalos, a piece inspired by Cooper’s recent trip to Greece as well as the center of her universe: home and family.

Cooper was recognized as the 2016 Outstanding USF Faculty Award winner and was the 2014 Featured Artist for the Sioux Falls Area Community Foundation.

Exhibit Details

  • Elsewhere and Here is on display at the Washington Pavilion Visual Arts Center now through April 8. Cooper will give a closing artist talk at 7 p.m. on Friday, April 7.
  • Blood Run I is part of the Governor’s exhibit and is on display at the South Dakota Art Museum in Brookings until April 16. 
  • Omphalos is part of the Women at Work: South Dakota Artists exhibit at the South Dakota Art Museum in Brookings. The exhibit runs through July 9 with a public reception on March 31 from 5-7 p.m.

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