This gallery in Spearfish can transport you to far off places

The Termesphere Gallery in Spearfish was started by Dick Termes decades ago after he got the idea to build his Termespheres near the end of his college.
Published: Jun. 25, 2024 at 1:39 PM EDT

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KEVN) - We’ve all seen paintings on canvas or paper, but what about painting on something different? One artist in Spearfish asked that same question nearly 60 years ago and came up with an idea he calls Termespheres.

The Termesphere Gallery in Spearfish was started by Dick Termes decades ago after he got the idea to build his Termespheres near the end of his college.

The spheres themselves are plastic balls that Termes paints the entirety of to create a scene like a typical painting, but with more angles to look at. The scenes range from abstract paintings filled with unique shapes and colors to recreations of real-life locations.

His gallery is free to the public and he welcomes anyone interested in seeing the spheres to come in and check them out for themselves. Recently, Termes set up a virtual reality headset that allows visitors to see the spheres as if they were inside of them. He plans to make virtual reality accessible remotely in the future but emphasizes there’s nothing quite like seeing them in person.

“It’s a real typical thing cause they don’t really have any idea I mean they’ve seen internet stuff and stuff and they’ve seen magazine articles and stuff, but it’s not living in the real world and they walk in the door and they almost stumble backwards,” Termes said.

For those looking to learn more about Termes and how he creates his spheres, he has an autobiography that tracks how he started this journey and how he got where he is today.

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