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South Dakota native Dan Kane, a photographer who spent decades living abroad, will return this month to the South Dakota Art Museum to reflect on a lifelong career that was sparked by a simple gift. 

Kane and guest curator Hunter O’Hanian will talk about “Over a Hundred Thousand Images Later – Dan Kane: A Retrospective” at a reception planned for 5-7 p.m. Sept. 20. The social hour and following lecture are free and open to the public. 

The exhibit opened June 28 and is on display at the South Dakota Art Museum on the South Dakota State University campus through Sept. 28. 

In 1970, as Kane prepared for a transformative year abroad as an exchange student, his mother gifted him a modest Instamatic camera, suggesting he might want to capture moments of his journey. Neither could have foreseen that this small gesture would ignite a decades-long passion and career. 

Now, “over a hundred thousand images later” and after over 40 years living in Berlin, Kane returns to his native South Dakota, offering the people of his home state a glimpse into his profound artistry. 

Kane’s steadfast commitment to analog photography defines his body of work, which delves into the interplay of form and shadow. His visual exploration of the male human form as a terrain of shapes and contours finds a compelling resonance in this exhibition where his figurative work is presented in dialogue with his striking photographs of South Dakota’s sweeping landscapes and dramatic scenery.  

Through predominantly black-and-white photographs, Kane evokes both the nuanced beauty and enigma of his subjects, while grounding his vision in a mastery of design elements and principles that echo classical and academic artistic traditions. 

“Even if someday I had a show at the Whitney or Museum of Modern Art or wherever, it is this show that will always mean the most to me,” Kane said of the exhibit located in Brookings, where Kane was born. 

"We’re thrilled to welcome Dan Kane back to South Dakota for what feels like a true homecoming," museum director Donna Merkt said. "It’s deeply moving to see that, like other South Dakota artists before him, Dan has continued to draw creative energy from the dramatic South Dakota landscape — even while building an extraordinary body of work abroad.” 

“This exhibition presents a rare opportunity to see these two strands of his practice — figurative studies shaped in Berlin and expansive views of his home state — together in one place. The result is a compelling dialogue between place and form, between memory and vision," Taylor McKeown, curator of collections and exhibitions, added. 

The museum has also produced a catalog featuring essays by the guest curator and museum curators. The catalog will be available for purchase in the museum shop. 

This exhibition contains artistic depictions of male nudity. Viewer discretion is advised, and the exhibit is recommended for mature audiences. 

The South Dakota Art Museum is located at 1036 Medary Ave. in Brookings. Admission to the museum is free for all. Visitor parking is also free in the museum’s reserved lot just west of the museum on Harvey Dunn Street. For more information, visit the museum’s website or call at 605-688-5423.