Shared Reflections | Nancyjane Huehl + Angela Behrends

Shared Reflections
Artist Reception
Friday March 6th
6 – 8PM

In their first co-exhibition, artists Nancyjane Huehl and Angela Behrends find connection in nature and daily life. Using paint, print and mixed media they create uplifting and engaging artworks reflective of contemplation and playfulness. Both noted career artists, Huehl and Behrends center their work on experience in the natural world. It is their shared belief that when art is created with intention and purpose, it is an expression of authentic observation between the artist and their audience. Together, Huehl and Behrends strive for Shared Reflections to serve as a conduit of inspiration, connection, and insight.

About the Artists:

Angela Behrends

I was looking for a way to draw in space when I taught 3-D design. Steel wire was available at hardware and farm stores, and allowed me and my students to explore shape, volume, and form. I started collecting my students’ unwanted wire exercises because I couldn’t stand to let perfectly good sculpture material go to the landfill. When I crushed a bunch of abandoned wire spheres and 3-D sketches together, I recognized a memory:

My parents rented an RV and drove their little kids to western South Dakota for a family vacation. I was three or four years old, and my only memory of the trip was climbing up to a bench at the RV table so that I could see what my sisters were excited about. Just outside the glass louvres was the most majestic animal! A herd of bison had wandered into our campground, and except for the window screen, I could have touched one of them.

I read Dan O’Brien’s books about how bison manage prairie, and learned too much about their heartbreaking history and near-demise. I apologized to all of the taxidermy mounts I encountered in outdoor sporting goods stores. How can I honor these animals? By making wire bison. They exist somewhere between 3-D scribbling and steel wire crochet. Every member of the herd develops with its own personality.

Angela Behrends grew up in MN, earned an MFA at UNL, taught at DSU in Madison, SD, and now resides in Sioux Falls with her three cats. She has artwork in permanent collections at the State of South Dakota, Washington Pavilion, Dahl Arts Center, and South Dakota Art Museum.

Nancyjane Huehl

Each piece begins as an intuitive yet intentional observation of the natural world. The pencil marks offer clarity and intention, while layers of oil bring depth, atmosphere, and the movement of color. This balance between order and intuition mirrors how identity is shaped — both constructed and organic, deliberate and instinctive. Through this process the subtle moments the self and environment merge — the boundaries between human experience and the natural world become porous, with composition and color becoming a vessel for memory and transformation.

Huehl’s work has been featured in exhibitions including: The Washington Pavilion, Center for Western Studies, National Oil and Acrylic Painters Society International, South Dakota Art Museum, Women Artists of the West International, St. Louis Artist’s Guild International, New Orleans Art Association International, and the Pearson Lakes Art Center. Huehl is also honored to be a recipient of: South Dakota Arts Council Artists Grant, M. Graham Oil Painters Award N.O.A.P.S., Signature Artist” with the National Oil and Acrylic Painters Society N.O.A.P.S.