School of Visual Arts presents “Accidental Certainty,” an exhibition of paintings by three MFA Fine Arts students that expand on 20th-century expressionist abstraction. Curated by Richard Brooks, assistant director of SVA Galleries, “Accidental Certainty” is on view August 15 through September 20 at the SVA Flatiron Gallery, 133/141 West 21st Street, New York City. Admission is free.

Sarah Dineen’s ongoing series of abstract paintings “Certain Dark Things” is inspired by Pablo Neruda's “Love Sonnet 17”: "I love you as certain dark things are to be loved, in secret, between the shadow and the soul." Accordingly, the artist paints dramatic large-scale canvases, including one that is 18 feet long and populated with dynamic ochre and black organic forms that feel familiar but are ultimately ineffable, inviting viewers to discover unexpected associations.

Hee Sun Shin’s abstract oil paintings explore the passage of time by way of bold, graphic shapes floating on bright pink and orange backgrounds. In The Idea of Time, Shin repeats simple, elementary strokes to build ribbon-like pathways bounded by black bands that evoke a totemic signpost guiding the viewer along an infinite timeline.

A pronounced organic sensibility permeates Lulu Zhang’s paintings. The artist uses free association and spontaneous brushwork to create casual, yet highly resolved abstractions filled with biomorphic forms coexisting in delicate, balanced compositions.

Exhibition

Accidental Certainty

SVA Flatiron Gallery

Reception