School of Visual Arts presents “A Toothache,” an exhibition of work by SVA students and a recent graduate selected by a jury of their peers. Organized by SVA Galleries, “A Toothache” is on view Saturday, August 6, through Saturday, September 10, at the SVA Gramercy Gallery, 209 East 23rd Street, New York City.

Taking its title from filmmaker Krzysztof Kieslowski’s idea that all people, regardless of age, nationality, faith or gender, experience the same pain from a toothache, the work on view in the exhibition blurs the line between private and public life. By bringing their personal lives into the foreground, the artists in the exhibition invite an aesthetic response from their viewers through personal expressions in their work.

Participating artists include Boyz Bieber, Emma Bond, Christian Eldridge, Katelyn Kopenhaver, Joeun Lee, Zhi Li, Katie Mulligan, Idit Nissenbaum, Francisco Rodriguez, Mahala Sacra and Tamara Vagner.

Boyz Bieber’s (MPS Digital Photography) portrait series, “Profiles,” explores online dating and modern romance by overlaying text from Tinder profiles onto his subjects.

Emma Bond’s (BFA Photography and Video) series of black and white photographs transforms flesh into landscape as a way of masking issues of body image.

Inspired by the vision of snakes in his grandmother’s hallucinations and their appearance on her gravestone after death, Christian Eldridge’s (BFA Illustration) paintings explore his experiences with mortality.

Through drawings and photographs, Katelyn Kopenhaver (BFA 2016 Photography and Video) questions the idea of authenticity and other misconceptions about the fashion industry.

Joeun Lee (BFA Photography and Video) uses photography as a method of processing her battle with illness.

Zhi Li’s (MFA Photography, Video and Related Media) video series “Triptych” combines audio and visual elements from films in three languages to call attention to cultural differences and similarities.

Katie Mulligan’s (BFA Illustration) portraits examine the various ways individuals present themselves.

Idit Nissenbaum’s (BFA Photography and Video) installations are inspired by spiritual qualities in the physical world and her daily life.

Francisco Rodriguez (MFA Illustration as Visual Essay) is concerned with storytelling, the relation between images and words and their capacity to convey thoughts and emotions in a compelling way.

Mahala Sacra’s (MPS Art Therapy) portraits document how people shape and are shaped by their environments.

Tamara Vagner’s (BFA Illustration) illustrations are taken from a sketchbook she kept during a trip to Savannah, Georgia, where she reunited with a friend who collects skulls in his 180-year-old apartment.

Juried exhibitions are a way for SVA’s student body to recognize the achievements of their classmates. Artists are selected from a large pool of applicants through a rigorous examination of presented materials, including documentation of work and artist statements.

Exhibition

A Toothache

SVA Gramercy Gallery

Reception