Jan. 10, 2025

Two local artists have teamed up to co-curate an art show, start an art gallery and begin a new era of art in Sioux Falls.

Norse Art Space is a contemporary gallery owned and operated by colleagues-turned-friends Cody Henrichs and Joe Schaeffer.

Cody Henrichs and Joe Schaeffer

“Our mission is to spotlight the work of artists who are making meaningful and thought-provoking contributions to the vibrant landscape of contemporary art in the Midwest,” Henrichs said.

The gallery occupies the lower level of the Norse Building at Phillips Avenue and 39th Street.

When building owner Paul Gourley was brainstorming ideas for the space, he connected with one of the eventual gallery’s featured artists, Ivy Oland Dandar, who then connected him to Schaeffer.

“The space was just an underutilized conference and work room,” Gourley said. “I look for the highest, best use of space, and in this case, we found it.”

The building was built by Paulsen Advertising in the 1960s, then owned by the family that produced Red Stangland’s famous Norwegian Ole and Lena joke books. As a nod to the building’s Norwegian connection, it’s called the Norse Building. Gourley’s property management and real estate office occupies the main floor.

To boost the aesthetic of the front of the building, Gourley commissioned a piece of art to hang there in 2022 and has commissioned a new piece from local artists approximately every six months.

When Gourley asked Schaeffer to commission a piece for the building in late 2023, their collaboration began.

“Through that collaboration, Paul was interested in bringing an art space (to the lower level,)” Schaeffer explained. “At the time, it wasn’t finished, and he talked about painting walls, getting trim in but leaving it bare.”

They called it Norse Art Space.

In that process, Schaeffer connected with Henrichs, former lead curator at the Washington Pavilion. The two opened the gallery in November.

They said that for decades in Sioux Falls, the idea of art has been more about decor, or craft, in the home and less about art collection found in larger metropolitan areas.

“We have big visions about the holes we can fill, and this is our first step in creating a solution to a market that – in our opinion – is vacant,” Henrichs said. “We have a huge opening in terms of representing art and also promoting what is collectible contemporary work.”

The city needs more, they said.

“The existing art spaces are needed and do fill a hole to help create the art community at-large,” Schaeffer said. “We’re hoping to add an additional element that provides an opportunity for people to come see the work one-on-one in a thoughtful and intuitive way.”

The for-profit gallery will host four shows a year.

“I think what Joe Schaeffer and the group behind the Norse Art Space are doing fills a gap for artists in the community and has excellent potential to connect many people with great art,” Gourley added.

“Everything we do is of museum caliber while in direct representation for promotion of the artist,” Henrichs said.

The current show “Back to Essence” is available by appointment only through mid-January, featuring work from both Schaeffer and Heinrichs, plus nine additional local artists, including Wes Eisenhauser, Rick Johns, Ceca Cooper, Cory Knedler, Eli Show, Angela Zonunpari, Young Ae Kim, Ivy Oland Dandar and Keith Braveheart.

“Anyone who books an appointment, we’re talking to them about the artists and their work, why we think their work is collectible and why it’s significant in the region,” Schaeffer said. “This is trying to take a step forward to taking the artists that we believe to be making significant work very seriously. The hope is that over time, we can build that educational component into potential collectors.”

The next show will open in February. In fact, Schaeffer and Heinrichs already have a vision for how they will fill the space for the next several years’ worth of shows.

“Every time I walk down and turn on the lights, it’s exciting,” Schaeffer added. “There is so much energy in this space from all the work. … The work is an extension of the artist.”

“It provides so much possibility, and we hope anyone who comes down here will feel it too.”

For information and to book an appointment, visit Norse Art Space online.