Exhibition

School of Visual Arts presents “Escape From, Escape To,” an exhibition of multidisciplinary works by SVA students. Curated by MA Curatorial Practice fellow Kate Benedict, the exhibition will be on view from Saturday, April 27, through Saturday, May 16, at the SVA Chelsea Gallery, 601 West 26th Street, 15th floor, New York City.

The artists in “Escape From, Escape To” address economies of desire in capitalism and question how subjectivity and identity are echoed, reflected and criticized in contemporary art. The nine artists in the exhibition do not simply renounce desire, but instead propose queer or other non-binary ways of addressing deeper issues of power, loss, consumption and the increasing commodification of identities.

Rather than providing neat, packaged answers, “Escape From, Escape To” remains purposefully undefined and begs the question: is it possible to opt out, bypass or retool how art is staged or promoted without merely repeating the production of capitalist subjectivity?

Participating artists include Jason Elizondo (MFA Fine Arts), Amy Ham (BFA Fine Arts), Bayin Jiang (MFA Fine Arts), Hera HaeSoo Kim (MFA Fine Arts), Esteban Kuriel (MFA Photography, Video and Related Media), Shan Lai (MFA Photography, Video and Related Media), Jingjing Lin (MFA Art Practice), Marianna Peragallo (MFA Fine Arts) and Dana Robinson (MFA Fine Arts).

Juried exhibitions are a way for SVA students to recognize the achievements of their most distinguished classmates. Artists are selected from a large pool of applicants to the annual SVA Galleries call for entries, whose submissions undergo a rigorous examination of presented materials, including documentation of work and artist statements.

The exhibition program at SVA advances the College’s philosophy of integrating life outside the classroom with the teaching that occurs within. Becoming a professional artist entails more than just developing talent and honing skills; it also means gaining the practical experience and creative enrichment that come from showing work in a real gallery setting. Some of the most important present-day artists first exhibited their work while they were still students at SVA.