Syracuse University's College of Visual and Performing Arts (VPA) will take its
annual master of fine arts degree candidates exhibition to New York City for the
first time when it presents "MFA 2009" July 17-Aug. 1 at the New York Center
for Art and Media Studies (NYCAMS) Gallery, 44 W. 28th St., 7th floor. The show,
which is curated by New York City-based sculptor Matthew Lusk, is free and
open to the public. Regular gallery hours are Tuesday-Saturday, noon-6 p.m. (Image: Tijana Djordjevic, untitled mixed pieces, porcelain, 2007-2009)
Each spring, VPA presents a Syracuse exhibition of work by M.F.A. candidates
from its
School of Art and Design and
Department of Transmedia. "MFA 2009"
was exhibited at
SUArt Galleries April 9-May 10. The NYCAMS show marks the
first time the exhibition has traveled outside of Syracuse.
"MFA 2009" features 22 artists: Elissa Brown, Jennifer Carolin, Blake Carrington,
Lewis Colburn, Lorraine Delaney, Tijana Djordjevic, Brenda Edwards, Edward
Feldman, Christopher Gianunzio, Elizabeth Greene, Maire Kennedy, Jaehee Lee,
Robin Meyer, Sung Jin Park, Jeff Passetti, Renaud Patard, Ryan Silveira, Colin
Todd, Peter Turner, Jennifer Wilkey, Hyerin Yang and Arjan Zazueta.
The exhibition features a range of work from oil on canvas, portraiture and
atmospheric-fired pottery to digital prints, site-specific installation and video
projection.
While the artists work in a variety of media and techniques, themes emerge
across the disciplines. The concept of the fabricated or manipulated environment
is evident in many of the artists' sculptural installations, including a
monumental model stagecoach positioned in a moon-landing re-creation and a
faux-storefront display with ceramic poodles that both mocks and celebrates
what we regard as haute couture.
Nostalgia and personal identity are also sources of inspiration in "MFA 2009."
One work reinterprets the well-known characters from "Sesame Street" into an
iconic status, while another incorporates the artist's memories and dark humor
into photographs that explore childhood experiences of fear, mortality and sex.
Lusk, who also wrote the catalog essay for "MFA 2009," lives and works in
Brooklyn, and has shown his work internationally. He is currently exhibiting
work in the group show "Drift" at Glowlab in New York City. He recently
showed work in "I, Daughter of Kong" at the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council
on Maiden Lane in New York City and in "I Thought Our Worlds Were the
Same" at Zeitgeist Gallery in Nashville, Tenn. He has also shown work or
participated in group projects in such cities as Athens, Ga.; Chicago; and Dublin.
Lusk is a recipient of a 2008 Emerging Artist Fellowship Grant from Socrates
Sculpture Park in Long Island City, N.Y., and also received an emergency grant
from the New York Foundation for Contemporary Arts. He has been featured in
several publications, most recently Art Lies and WORK. He holds a bachelor of
fine arts degree from the University of Georgia at Athens and a master of fine
arts degree from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
For more information about the exhibition, contact Andrew Havenhand, VPA's
program exhibitions coordinator, at (315) 474-1217 or
ahavenhand@yahoo.com.
VPA is committed to the education of cultural leaders who will engage and
inspire audiences through performance, visual art, design, scholarship and
commentary. The college provides the tools for self-discovery and risk-taking in
an environment that thrives on critical thought and action. Learn more at
http://vpa.syr.edu.
