made in the plains

2025 GROUP EXHIBITION, JOSLYN ART MUSEUM

Wesaam Al-Badry, Jess Benjamin, Larry Buller, Andrew Casto, Rachel Cox, T.J. Dedeaux-Norris, Nancy Friedmann-Sanchez, Neil Griess, Becky Grismer, Shabnam Jannesari, Larassa Kabel, Sara Rowe, Nathaniel Ruleaux, Lee Emma Running, Angie Seykora, Lauren Simpson, Fransisco Souto, Christine Stormberg, Mallory Wetherell, and Jave Yoshimoto.

Photo credit: Bill Ganzel, Ganzel Group Communications

“The Plains is a broad expanse of flatland in North America. The term, used to describe both a geographic area of the American interior and a landscape covered in prairie, steppe, and grassland, came into use in the early twentieth century. Native peoples, followed by settlers, migrants, and refugees from around the world have called this area home. It is a place where vast farms abut city limits, where the mighty Missouri River is a powerful presence, and where being in so-called “flyover country” is a point of pride. It is also a place where the arts thrive.

Made in the Plains features new and recent works by twenty artists living in Nebraska, Iowa and South Dakota. While not a comprehensive survey of art being produced here, the exhibition highlights a range of materials and approaches artists engage to respond to the current moment. Universal human themes, including history, place, and representation are explored alongside timely concerns, like climate change, land use, gender norms, bodily autonomy, and geopolitical conflict. Through painting, sculpture, photography, installation, ceramics, and performance, these artists exemplify the creative landscape of the Plains today.”