A Parcel of Oneself

By Olivia Bertino

Staff Writer

The last time Brea deMontigny submitted a piece of her art for public viewing was eight years ago.

When she first heard about the Breakthrough ‘25 showcase for emerging artists, she wasn’t sure she was going to do it. 

“ I had to psych myself up,” deMontigny said. “I really had to get there.”

Brea deMontigny

Then her first submission — after nearly a decade-long hiatus — won “Best in Show.” 

“ I was looking around, not even thinking for a single second that it was me,” deMontigny said. “And then I spent the rest of the night in shock.”

DeMontigny was one of 70 local artists who submitted work to the Breakthrough exhibition at the Washington Pavilion. Her winning piece, titled “Disassociate,” combines elements of overwhelm with the world inside her head.

DeMontigny’s recent work explores contemporary mindsets and the different thoughts and feelings of the modern age. While she has always leaned towards surrealism and dark, moody colors, her early work centered around family dynamics inspired by her life. 

“We would use summer vacations to go visit our elders and help them and take care of them, and so I grew up with old photos and old tchotchkes and stuff surrounded everywhere,” deMontigny said. “Everything had its own story. I would see faces that I didn't necessarily have a relationship with, but I knew them.”

As a first-generation college student, deMontigny had to follow her best scholarship offer and got her associate degree at Northwest College, a small university in Wyoming, followed by a BFA from the University of Montana. She moved back to Wyoming after graduating and started working at a small gallery while continuing to make her own art.

“The Star,” a piece by Brea deMontigny

“There's something about this crippling burnout that happens when you first get out of art school and you're trying to hustle and trying to make it work,” deMontigny said. “You have to find the right audience. You have to find the right people. You have to figure out how to price your artwork. And there's not a cut-and-dry way to do that.”

Feeling disillusioned with the life of an artist, deMontigny stopped creating and sharing art publicly. 

“I just needed to step away for a while,” deMontigny said. “There are parts about working in the arts that I like, so I found a graduate program when I was at that point where I needed a change.”

She found a master’s program at the University of Oregon in arts management and decided to switch courses. Shortly after graduating, deMontigny received a job offer from the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra and landed in Sioux Falls in 2019. She was still creating art, but her studies and paintings were just for her.

“Then last year I decided that I was going to try getting back into painting and showing other people, and I started painting little miniature portraits and little mini paintings for people for Christmas, and they really loved them,” deMontigny said.

For her first few years in Sioux Falls, deMontigny stuck to attending different shows and galleries in the area rather than participating.

“Art for me is something that is inherently vulnerable. Everything that I'm painting is coming from my mind, weird dreams that I have, thoughts, feelings, perspectives,” deMontigny said. “I'm essentially putting a parcel of myself on display. And even if I feel good about how the painting turned out, once it's out in the public, it's up to other people to decide what it means and how they feel about it.”

Brea deMontigny receives “Best in Show” at the inaugural Breakthrough ‘25 exhibition in the Everist Gallery at the Washington Pavilion in October 2025.

It wasn’t until she was out to lunch with two of the curators for the Breakthrough show that she considered showing art again. She loved the low barrier to entry and the open theme, but she still wasn’t sure whether she should create something to submit. While she was dreaming up new ideas, she stumbled upon an old concept that she had partially mapped out. 

“I was centering around this idea of feeling like things have been too much,” deMontigny said. “Like that feeling of when you want things to just stop and hold your breath.”

So after eight years and a lot of back and forth, deMontigny submitted her first piece of art to a gallery.

“ I don't know if I'm one of those people where, if I'm afraid of something, that it’s going to stop me from doing it.”

While awards were being announced, deMontigny was going through all the pieces in her head, trying to pick out who she thought would win. By the time it got to “Best in Show,” it barely registered that it was her piece that was being described. 

“People would come up and talk to me and congratulate me, and I'm just like, ‘Are you sure?’” deMontigny said. 

With the award under her belt, deMontigny is looking forward to finding her place in the Sioux Falls arts scene. 

“ I think this is the first step in sort of opening that community door, since it's the first time I've shown in eight years, but also the first time I've shown in Sioux Falls,” she said. “So I'm still kind of learning where I could fit in with my style and stuff.”