The semester begins with new juried exhibitions, lectures, roundtable conversations, and more.
Selema De Bellis, Tulip Study 1, 2024, inkjet print. On view at “Next Up: Reverberations.”
Selema De Bellis, Tulip Study 1, 2024, inkjet print. On view at “Next Up: Reverberations.”
Even a light month of programming at SVA still means a slew of events and exhibitions to check out both virtually and on campus. This month, SVA Galleries will debut its reimagined juried exhibitions in the form of a series across three spaces, and lectures from prominent curators and photographers will make their way to the College from places like Portugal, London, and Washington, DC, exploring wide-ranging topics from activism to ecology and social media ethics.
EXHIBITIONS
Through Friday, January 31 | “Transcendental Landscapes” | Online
SVA Continuing Education and Artist Residency programs present “Transcendental Landscapes,” an exhibition that brings together 15 artists from the fall 2024 artist residency cohort, curated by Paige Beeber. “Transcendental Landscapes” invites viewers to reconsider the landscapes they inhabit—not only as physical terrains but as spaces of meaning, memory, and transformation. In a year marked by shifting climates and elemental power, these works trace the intricate relationship between the human spirit and the natural world, offering a vision of renewal and interconnectedness.
Chloe Scout, Nix tickling, 2024, photograph. On view at “Transcendental Landscapes.”
Chloe Scout, Nix tickling, 2024, photograph. On view at “Transcendental Landscapes.”
Through Friday, February 28 | “We the Public” | Online
BFA Photography and Video presents “We the Public: Engagement, Action, and Each Other,” an exhibition of work from the department’s 2024 global contest for high school students. Giving voice to up-and-coming creative talents in photography and video, “We The Public” showcases a wide range of perspectives that explore the civil and the civic. High school students were asked to submit work considering the questions: What are our hopes, needs, and responsibilities, both individually and collectively? How do we participate in community, caring for each other and our shared resources? And how can we affect change on local, state, national, and global levels?
Thursday, January 9 – Saturday, January 25 | “Land of the Olive Groves” | SVA Flatiron Project Space
BFA Visual and Critical Studies presents an exhibition of mixed media artworks curated by student Rania Mouawad, featuring a mix of photography, silkscreen, Tatreez patterning, and illustration exploring ideas of regrowth, rebirth, and return..
Tuesday, January 14 – Saturday, February 1 | “Next Up: Switchboard” | SVA Chelsea Gallery
An exhibition of multimedia work by 18 SVA students selected by a jury of notable alumni, part of the new SVA Galleries juried series, “Next Up.” The artists in this show seek to resolve severed or forgotten connections. Whether reflecting upon familial and diasporic erosion or the body's fragility, the works on view pair personal and community experiences with materials that amplify meanings. Each creator integrates elements of resilience, psychology, and memory into their work, emphasizing how inextricable the human psyche is from a complex yet beautiful web of influences.
Tuesday, January 14 – Saturday, February 1 | “Next Up: Reverberations” | SVA Gramercy Gallery
An exhibition of multimedia work by nine SVA students selected by a jury of notable alumni, part of the new SVA Galleries juried series, “Next Up.” The artists in this exhibition create work in conversation with personal and social histories, weaving these varied strands of inspiration into a material to cut, layer, and piece together social commentary. Across drawings, installations, paintings, and sculpture, their respective practices connect past causes with present effects, prompting questions on the best way to move forward.
Tuesday, January 14 – Saturday, February 1 | “Next Up: Sun Chasers” | SVA Flatiron Gallery
An exhibition of multimedia work by six SVA students selected by a jury of notable alumni, part of the new SVA Galleries juried series, “Next Up.” Through painting, photography, and printmaking, the six artists in this exhibition retrace steps and identify recurring patterns that have led our societies to their present-day state. A common thread among their aesthetically varied work is the pursuit of freedom, ranging from social expectations, embedded ideologies, groupthink, and alienation.
Emily (Xinya) Wang, When the Sun Hides and the Flowers of Cherry Bloom, 2024, acrylic on canvas, 12 x 9 inches. On view at “Next Up: Switchboard.”
EVENTS
MPS Digital Photography presents a talk with fine art photographer and SVA faculty member Elinor Carucci, part of its i3: Images, Ideas, Inspiration lecture series. Carucci’s work has been included in many solo and group exhibitions worldwide and appeared in publications internationally, including in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, Jewish Museum, Brooklyn Museum, and many others. An award-winning photographer, she has also published five monographs to date and is represented by Edwynn Houk Gallery.
Wednesday, January 15, 9:00 – 10:00am | The Curatorial Roundtable: João Laia (Porto) | Online
MA Curatorial Practice presents a talk with João Laia, artistic director of the department of contemporary art of the Municipality of Porto. Previously, Laia was the chief curator for exhibitions at Kiasma, National Museum of Contemporary Art, Helsinki. In 2021, together with Valentinas Klimašauskas, he curated the 14th edition of the Baltic Triennial at the CAC, Contemporary Art Center in Vilnius. He has published articles in Flash Art, frieze, Mousse, Spike, and Terremoto.
In this virtual lecture presented by MPS Art Therapy, Gretchen M. Miller, LPAT, ATR-BC, will examine the evolving role of social media in art therapy, highlighting contemporary ethical, professional, and creative considerations for engagement as an art therapist. Content covers navigating this digital landscape, aiming to empower art therapists to leverage social media effectively while demonstrating ethical, professional, and communal care.
MA Curatorial Practice presents a talk with Julieta González, head of exhibitions at the Wexner Center for the Arts in Columbus, Ohio, and curator-at-large for Modern and Contemporary Art at the Museu de Arte de São Paulo. In addition to curating and co-curating more than 60 exhibitions, González has edited several artist books and written essays for international publications and catalogs.
MPS Digital Photography presents a talk with photographer and photo-illustrator William King, part of its i3: Images, Ideas, Inspiration lecture series. King has significant expertise in studio lighting, commercial photography, and compositing, and is currently serving as a board member for APA New York, and the Sierra Photo New York group.
MA Curatorial Practice presents a talk with Lucia Pietroiusti, head of ecologies at Serptentine Galleries in London. As a curator, programmer, and organizational strategist, she works at the intersection of art, ecology, and systems, often outside of the exhibition space. Ecologies at Serpentine is a holistic, integrated, and adaptive initiative aimed at embedding environmental responsibility throughout Serpentine’s infrastructure, operations, networks, and programming.
Wednesday, January 29, 6:30 – 8:00pm | Wafa Ghnaim—Tatreez Resistance: The Traditional Art of Palestinian Embroidery in the Diaspora | 133/141 West 21st Street, Room 101C BFA Visual and Critical Studies and the SVA Honors Program present a talk with Wafa Ghnaim, curator for the Museum of the Palestinian People in Washington, DC, and senior research fellow for the Metropolitan Museum of Art in the Ancient Near East. Ghnaim, a Palestinian dress historian, researcher, author, curator, educator, and embroideress, intertwines memory, history, politics and embroidery in sharing traditional Palestinian patterns and stories passed on to her by her mother.
Elika Jiang, The Embrace, 2024, inkjet print. On view at “Next Up: Sun Chasers.”
Elika Jiang, The Embrace, 2024, inkjet print. On view at “Next Up: Sun Chasers.”