Exhibition

Note: In solidarity with Minnesota and affected communities across the country, SVA MA Curatorial Practice is joining the national strike and closing its gallery on Friday, January 30. The “Future/Nature” reception, originally scheduled for Friday, January 30, 6:00 – 8:00pm, has been postponed until Tuesday, February 3, 6:30pm.

MA Curatorial Practice presents “Future/Nature,” an exhibition curated by MA Curatorial Practice student Romy Cohen. “Future/Nature” is a group exhibition that explores the relationship between humans and the natural world, arguing that the belief in human dominance over nature is a destructive myth. The project contends that humans and nonhuman systems are deeply entangled biologically, ethically, technologically, and culturally. Recognizing this entanglement is not only conceptually necessary but politically and ecologically urgent. 

Human entanglement with the natural world is exemplified throughout the show. Beca Acosta uses photography to examine how human behavior has affected biology on a microscopic level, rendering us intimately embedded within each other. Bianca Shonee Arroyo-Kreimes imagines a speculative future through an immersive digital environment populated with hybrid animated plants and lifeforms that draw upon real species. Lucas Bourgine visualizes the entanglement of humans and the natural world by blending familiar landscapes with surreal or speculative elements to provoke reflection on perceptual systems. Jack Catlett explores our relationship with the natural universe through the lens of a parallel reality characterized by a specific capitalist controller. Matthias Garff highlights how human activity and non-human life are inseparable in shared habitats by creating sculptures made from human detritus. Ingela Ihrmans uses performance to examine humans’ relationships with other species, inviting viewers to see themselves through the perspective of other life forms. Natalie Cole Wood’s sculptures connect biological drives shared across species, dissolving the false distinctions between humans and other species.

“Future/Nature” aims to challenge entrenched ideas of human exceptionalism by foregrounding the profound entanglement between human and nonhuman systems. Through diverse artistic approaches, the exhibition encourages viewers to reconsider their position within ecological, technological, and cultural networks, emphasizing that interconnectedness is essential to imagining more ethical, sustainable futures.

Artists: 

Beca Acosta

Bianca Shonee Arroyo-Kreimes 

Lucas Bourgine

Jack Catlett

Matthias Garff 

Ingela Ihrmans 

Natalie Colette Wood

The CP Projects Space, 132 West 21st Street, 10th floor, is open Monday through Friday from 10:00am to 6:00 pm, and weekends by appointment.

The Master of Arts degree in Curatorial Practice at the School of Visual Arts is a two-year program that focuses on intensive professional training, with a thorough grounding in the study of art and exhibition history, research, and theory. Students work with leading experts in an academic setting and in internships around the world, providing continuous opportunities to gain practical experience, acquire intellectual breadth, and develop a professional network in the field. The program takes full advantage of the vast number of arts institutions in New York City and the professionals working here and visiting, who constitute our distinguished faculty and weekly guest speakers. Go to macp.sva.edu to find out more.