Previous Exhibitions
MidWestern Abstract
Tom Prinz & Mike Nesbit
January 19 - March 3, 2024
This exhibition featured the pairing of artists Tom Prinz (Omaha) and Mike Nesbit (Los Angeles). For the past six years, their collaborative art and installation work has been engaged in a dialogue about the MidWestern landscape. The installation work for this exhibition was created onsite at the gallery to mesh with the building’s industrial architecture.
2023 Nebraska Biennial
September 8 - December 17, 2023
The Nebraska Biennial is a juried exhibition held in odd-numbered years that features some of the best artists from across the state. The 2023 exhibition included work by 115 artists from a diverse range of backgrounds and style. The Biennial is part of Gallery 1516’s mission to support and celebrate Nebraska artists.
Milton Wolsky: A Mid-Century Nebraska Artist
June 9 - August 13, 2023
This summer, Gallery 1516 is showcasing an exhibition of work by mid-century Nebraska artist Milton Wolsky. Wolsky was an illustrator and modern artist who worked in Omaha and New York City from the 1940s-1980s. The exhibition highlights work from throughout his career, giving insight into his evolving and genre-spanning talents. This exhibition is part of Gallery 1516’s mission to celebrate the work of Nebraska artists. Part of this project includes curating traveling exhibitions to share this artwork with new audiences across the region. Gallery 1516 recently curated a traveling exhibition of Milton Wolsky’s work which was hosted at the Blanden Art Museum in Fort Dodge, IA from May 7 - July 23, 2022.
Modern Quilting on the Prairie
February 17 - May 14, 2023
This exhibition is a special collaboration with the Omaha Modern Quilt Guild and the International Quilt Museum (IQM) in Lincoln. The exhibition featured approximately 40 quilts which were created by members of the Quilt Guild or loaned by the IQM. This exhibition explores the diversity and techniques of modern quilting alongside the historical works from IQM.
2022 Regional Photography Biennial
November 11, 2022 - January 29, 2023
The 2022 Regional Photography Biennial is a new program from Gallery 1516, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting Nebraska and Regional artists. In service of that mission, the gallery introduced the Regional Photography Biennial as a way to showcase the artistic talent of photographers from the seven-state region of Nebraska, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, South Dakota, and Wyoming. Entries came from cities including Omaha, Lincoln, Kansas City, St. Louis, Colorado Springs, Des Moines, Sioux Falls, Jackson Hole, and Denver.
The exhibition featured 93 artworks representing a variety of photographic styles. Categories of work include Abstract/Conceptual, Animals, City/Street, Landscape, Nature, People, Photojournalism, and Still Life.
This year’s exhibition judges were Diego and April Uchitel.
UNO School of the Arts
Faculty & Staff Exhibition
September 16 - October 15, 2022
Gallery 1516 is excited to highlight a new affiliation with the UNO School of the Arts. For the first venture in this partnership, the UNO Art Gallery presents a biennial showcase of the School of the Arts’ nationally and internationally recognized faculty and staff. The exhibition, hosted at Gallery 1516, offers a cross-section of artistic media and scholarship represented by the disciplines of the School of the Arts: Art & Art History, Theatre, and Writer’s Workshop and includes full-time and part-time faculty and professional staff. The show also features artworks by Wanda Ewing, a former UNO art professor.
I’VE BEEN HERE BEFORE
Emerging Artists Exhibition
July 17 - August 28, 2022
This group exhibition features five emerging Nebraska artists: Sophie Newell, Oria Simonini, Evan Stoler, Katie B Temple, and Joseph Vavak. Each artist projects a narrative that, while distinct, shares a common thread of a nostalgic memories that are fragmented, blurred, and incomplete. Each work is a quest for a defined meaning which is defied by impermanence, abandonment, and spaces without boundaries.
NEBRASKA: FLATWATER
Immersive Video Installation
April 29 - July 3, 2022
This is an original production developed and produced by Gallery 1516.
The name Nebraska was derived from the Indigenous word Ñí Brásge (nee-BRATHE-ga) meaning “flat water.” With nearly 80,000 miles of rivers surrounded by plains and sand hills, Nebraska’s unique landscape is taking center stage at Gallery 1516.
Nebraska: Flatwater is an immersive video installation produced by Gallery 1516 and directed by Adam Larsen that explores the natural beauty of the state throughout the four seasons. A series of projectors around the gallery will surround you with the changing landscape, with scenes including autumn wheat fields, roaming bison, and snow on the Platte River. The video is accompanied by dance and music by Nebraska performers. Watch the trailer for a brief glimpse of this exhibition.
ArteLatinX 2022
From the Office of Latino/Latin American Studies at UNO
March 11 - April 7, 2022
The University of Nebraska Omaha’s Office of Latino/Latin American Studies (OLLAS) is hosting their third biennial art exhibition, ArteLatinX.
The mission of ArteLatinX (pronounced art-uh latin-ex) is to create a month-long biennial art exhibition bringing together Latinx artists from the Great Plains region (NE, IA, KS, MO, MN, SD, & ND) to continue creating a space for the work of Latinx artists whose work is often invisible and lacks sufficient support to fully flourish. ArteLatinX addresses these challenges by developing and consolidating a new space to showcase the relevance of Latinx artists and by creating a dialogue between those in and outside the arts. This year’s motto is “In It Together/Juntos en Esto”.
THE ARTIST AS MUSE
Sheldon Statewide traveling exhibition from the Sheldon Museum of Art at UNL
March 4 - 30, 2022
The exhibition is part of Sheldon Statewide, an annual program through which works from the museum’s collection travel to venues throughout Nebraska. Drawn from Sheldon’s collection, The Artist as Muse explores the role of the artist as both creator and subject. Each work depicts an artist, thus doubling the artistic presence and inspiring questions about personal relationships and creative processes.
The exhibition features paintings, photographs, and prints by artists including Robert Arneson, Milton Avery, Alexander Brook, Jim Dine, Christopher Felver, Robert Haiko, David Hockney, Dwight Kirsch, George Benjamin Luks, Arnold Newman, Betye Saar, Andy Warhol, and Weegee. It also features portraits of artists including Peggy Bacon, Robert Henri, Pablo Picasso, Jackson Pollock, Man Ray, Andy Warhol, and more.
Sheldon Statewide is supported by the Douglas County Visitors Bureau, Fred & Eve Simon Charitable Foundation, Farmers Mutual Insurance of Nebraska, Rhonda Seacrest, Nebraska Arts Council and Nebraska Cultural Endowment, and Sheldon Art Association.
CONFLUENCE:
Unity Restored After Division
January 14 - February 27, 2022
Confluence brings together five Omaha artists with distinctive approaches: Stephen Azevedo, Bill Hoover, Karen Linder, Kristae Peterson, and Meghan Stevens. Curated by Kristae Peterson, this exhibition seeks to bring together these artists’ work into a group show of Omaha’s artist community. The significance of the word “confluence” is its meaning of unity, particularly after a period of division. Like rivers, these five artists have come together to form a unified exhibition.
American Impressionist Society (AIS)
22nd Annual National Juried Exhibition
September 10 - December 12, 2021
Founded in 1998, the American Impressionist Society (AIS) has grown to be one of the most respected national art organizations in the country, with over 1,700 members nationwide. Each year, AIS holds a national exhibition showcasing the best work by their members. This year’s exhibition is being hosted at Gallery 1516. The show features 200 Impressionist paintings demonstrating a variety of styles and subject matter.
2021 Nebraska Artist Biennial
May 12 - August 1, 2021
The 2021 Nebraska Artist Biennial is a juried exhibition open to all artists who are affiliated with Nebraska, including current or former residents and students. The Biennial showcases Nebraska artists in a number of categories including ceramics, painting, sculpture, drawing, photography, student, printmaking, and multimedia.
Nearly 1,000 artworks were submitted for the 2021 exhibition and reviewed by a volunteer panel of judges. The first round of judging was conducted online and then selected works were reviewed in-person to determine the final selections for the exhibition. Ultimately, 100 artists representing a variety of artistic styles and disciplines were selected for the show!
MONA2Omaha
FRED OTNES: A Collage
February 5 - April 10, 2021
Fred Otnes’s collage works have appeared on magazine covers, movie posters, and postage stamps. Born in Junction City, Kansas in 1925, the family moved to Lincoln, Nebraska when Otnes was still a child. After working as an artist at The Lincoln Journal, Otnes later became an illustrator for national magazines including The Saturday Evening Post and Collier’s.
This exhibition was organized by the Museum of Nebraska Art (MONA) in Kearney.
Gallery 1516 x Amplify Arts: Emerging Artists
September 13 - November 22, 2020
Gallery 1516 collaborated with Amplify Arts to create a showcase of emerging artists from the Omaha area. Experience the work of some of Nebraska’s most talented up-and-coming artists: Anne Dovali, Neil Griess, Camille Hawbaker Voorhees, Jenna Johnson, Shawnequa Linder, Patty Talbert, and Tom White.
SPONTANEITY: 10 Nebraska Abstract Painters
February 28 - May 17, 2020
This exhibition features artwork by 10 abstract and abstract expressionist artists from Nebraska. Enjoy their spontaneous, gestural, and colorful paintings.
Featuring: James Bockelman, Dan Howard, Jerry Jacoby, Diane Lounsberry-Williams, Ann Pape, Larry Roots, Mark Sabaliauskas, Nancy Teague, JK Thorsen, and Beverly Todd.
MONA2Omaha: PHOTO ARK
by National Geographic Photographer Joel Sartore
October 25, 2019 - February 2, 2020
A collection of photographs by Joel Sartore from his groundbreaking project, Photo Ark. Photo Ark is an effort to document species before they disappear and record the world’s biodiversity. Joel Sartore, a Nebraska native, has spent the last twenty-five years documenting approximately 12,000 species from around the world. To date, he has completed portraits of 9,000 unique species. This exhibition encourages people to appreciate these incredible animals and work for their protection while there’s still time.
Plein Air Artists: Kingman — Dunbier — Gilder
August 24 - October 13, 2019
Featuring artwork by three 20th-century Nebraska artists: Eugene Kingman, Augustus Dunbier, and Robert Gilder. Experience their evocative plein air and studio landscapes, showcasing the Midwestern plains, the deserts of the Southwest, and more.
2019 Nebraska Artist Biennial
May 24 - August 4, 2019
The 2019 Nebraska Artist Biennial is a juried exhibition featuring 99 works from the best artists across Nebraska.
Gallery 1516 Collection
View a unique selection of work from Gallery 1516’s collection of Nebraska artists. Featuring work by Wanda Ewing, Dan Boylan, Kent Bellows, Jacqueline Kluver, Larry Sosso, and Milton Wolsky.
Nebraska 8 Invitational
January 20 - April 14, 2019
Featuring the work of eight phenomenal artists associated with Nebraska: Mary Zicafoose, Christina Narwicz, Karen Kunc, Jacqueline Kluver, Gail Kendall, Sheila Hicks, Catherine Ferguson, and Wanda Ewing.
Illuminating Dickens: A Christmas Carol
November 1 - December 23, 2018
Featuring the working drawings and final paintings of Jeremy Caniglia for the Easton Press 2013 publication of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.
MONA2Omaha: Nebraska Regionalists
September 7 - October 28, 2018
The Regionalist Movement of the 1930s and ‘40s focused on scenes of everyday life in rural and small-town America. Featuring Nebraska artists such as Dale Nichols, Terence Duren, and Dwight Kirsch, as well as Grant Wood, Thomas Hart Benton, and John Steuart Curry.
Nebraska Landscapes & The Big Sky
July 13 - August 26, 2018
An extraordinary exhibition by two of Nebraska’s finest artists, Hal Holoun and Jennifer Homan.
Missouri Valley Impressionist Society
May 11 - June 30, 2018
7th Annual Juried Exhibition
"The Missouri Valley Impressionist Society’s largest show of the year. The 2018 event was judged by Stephen Cornelius Roberts
The groups mission: "To unify Impressionism throughout the Missouri River Valley Region (9-States are included) by connecting artists who are consistent in their pursuit of the rural, urban, and historic beauty of our unique geography, while embracing the various approaches unique to each artist in this representation of beauty and truth."
The Dharma at Big Sur
April 6 - 22, 2018
As part of Opera Omaha’s ONE Festival, this world premiere video installation harnesses the orchestral masterpiece of John Adams’ The Dharma at Big Sur as soundtrack and aural inspiration.
Curator & Filmaker: Adam Larsen
Nebraska Sixty-Five Plus
January 20 - March 25, 2018
This exhibition includes sixty-five plus artworks from 65+ artists.
The show is dedicated to our friend and fellow artist Dan Boylan who passed away in 2017.
Nebraska Artist 2D Biennial
November 1 - December 31, 2017
This exhibition format, long a staple of 20th-century museum programming, had largely disappeared from the region, and gallery director Patrick Drickey felt it was time for a reintroduction given 1516’s mission to serve Nebraska artists.
All entries were reviewed anonymously by a three-panel jury that included Anne Pagel, curator for the Duncan Collection in Lincoln, Linda Rajcevich, former Deputy Director of Joslyn Art Museum, and Russ Erpelding, current Art Reach curator for the Museum of Nebraska Art. Artists were encouraged to submit from their most recent body of work, but it was not a requirement.
Summer Stock
July 7 - August 27, 2017
Nebraska artists Brian Wetjen, Angie Seykora, Bridget O’Donnell, David Patterson and guest artist Mike Nesbit, Mr. Nesbit is an artist/architect and hails from Los Angeles CA. He is the AIA guest speaker scheduled to speak here on August 17th. Each artist brings a personal application to their art that works strongly on their own, but also works together within the space.
Michael Phillips: William Blake, printing in the infernal method
April 28 - June 25, 2017
William Blake's original relief-etched copper plates used to print his illuminated books such as the Songs of Innocence and of Experience, The Marriage of Heaven and Hell and Europe a Prophecy, disappeared in the nineteenth century...
John Lokke & Jane Wright: Barada Hills Paintings and Poetry
May 5 - June 15, 2017
John Lokke is an artist, naturalist and amateur herpetologist.
A native of Omaha, NE, he received his BFA from University of Nebraska in Omaha. For the past 15 years, he has been working and teaching art in Wichita, KS at City Arts Gallery...
Bob Bosco: A Painter's Yoga Journey
March 31 - April 23, 2017
A series of 48 paintings was eight years in the making. Each piece of artwork focuses on a different yoga posture. Collectively they are becoming part of a book on Classical Yoga entitled “Yoga; The Discipline”.
MONA2Omaha: Photo Stories
February 3 - March 26, 2017
Photo Stories: Selections from the Museum of Nebraska Art included 60+ selections that span 150 years of diverse photography from 20 regional, national, and international photographers.
Larry Roots: A Survey
December 8, 2016 - January 22, 2017
This exhibition includes 50 paintings, drawings, and sculptures surveying the early origins of diverse mark making and painterly styles that intertwine and evolve into Larry’s recent work.
Tubach + Tubach: Preservation
October 7 - November 27, 2016
Tubach + Tubach: Preservation features the work of Allan and Lisa Tubach, whose art and lives are significantly connected. As father and daughter, and as dedicated painters, these artists share a deep empathy for our natural and cultural worlds.
Dan Boylan: A Retrospective
July 22 - September 25, 2016
48 paintings of Dan’s selected work spanning the years 1990-2016. This body of work represents a life-long interest in the human figure. Mr. Boylan presents images that combine the realities of traditional figures with the more technically and visually extreme elements of abstract expressionism.
MONA2Omaha: Terra Firma
April 1 - June 12, 2016
MONA2Omaha Landscape Exhibition: From the Museum of Nebraska Art collection including works by Thomas Worthington Whittredge, Albert Bierstadt, J. Nebraska Gifford, Keith Jacobshagen, Dan Howard, Augustus Dunbier, John Spence, Wright Morris and 14 more!
Friends of Kent
October 28, 2015 - January 9, 2016
Featuring work from 7 Nebraska artists including Vern Bellows, 55 pieces from the late Kent Bellows, and 5 additional artists who were colleagues of Kent: Edgar Jerins, Greg Scott, Paul Otero, Stephen Cornelius Roberts and Marc Chickinelli.
Milton Wolsky
May - June 2014
Our first MONA2Omaha exhibition in collaboration with the Museum of Nebraska Art in Kearney.
Milton Wolsky was born in Omaha, Nebraska in January of 1916. He dedicated his entire life to art. Milton studied at the Art Institute of Chicago and later at the Art Students League of New York under the direction of Julian Levi and Hans Hofmann.
Broghammer/Sosso: Bird & Wire
April - June, 2014
This exhibition included the artwork of Nebraska Artists Joe Broghammer and Larry Sosso. Broghammer offered new paintings that feature primarily an edgier take on his signature “Flock of Joe” bird collection.