“Capturing Moments — My family or friends and their families” is an exhibit of oil paintings by First Universalist member Dakota Hoska that will be on view at church in the Social Hall May 29 – July 3, 2016. The exhibit can be viewed on Sunday mornings or by appointment.

There will be an artist’s reception after worship on Sunday, June 12 (11 a.m.–noon) in the Social Hall. 

In this bombastic world, where one thing after another demands our attention, quiet moments and fleeting nuances are frequently overshadowed. Dakota Hoska sees her art as a form of rebellion to this chaotic environment we’ve created. She focuses on recognizing beauty in the mundane and reveling in the accidental.

The work for this show is based upon familiar interactions — her own and those of her friends and family. She loves chance meetings with beauty and enjoys capturing singular moments that would otherwise go unobserved. A trip through the kitchen reveals a compositional celebration of color and light; a stubborn child’s pout gives way to criss-crossed compositions in monochromatic hues. Working to evoke a sense of recognition in her viewer, she paints accessible moments of intimacy and familiarity.

Born and raised in South Dakota, the wide-open prairie had a profound effect on how Dakota views the world.

In her early twenties, she lived and worked in the Netherlands for six years. The friends she made and art venues she attended were instrumental in igniting her passion to pursue a career in the arts. She returned from Europe in 1996 and began the pursuit of her Bachelor of Fine Arts. Juggling a full-time job, marriage, and two small children, she pursued her studies whenever possible, completing her BFA from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design in 2012.

As an infant, she had been adopted out to a Norwegian family. In 2013, she reconnected with her biological family and learned that she is Oglala Lakota, from the Pine Ridge Reservation (Wounded Knee). Her Lakota heritage, family, and community now play an ever-increasing role in her life and artistic practice.

Dakota will soon begin a Master’s program in Art History with an emphasis on Native American Art History at the University of St. Thomas. She currently works as a Native American Curatorial Fellow at the Minneapolis Institute of Art and has a studio practice in St. Paul. She lives in South Minneapolis with her two sons, husband, and two mischievous huskies.

Learn more about Dakota Hoska and view more of her work on her website: www.dakotahoska.com