School of Visual Arts presents “UNICODE,” an exhibition of works by SVA students selected by a jury of their peers. Organized by SVA Galleries, “UNICODE” is on view Saturday, August 19, through Saturday, September 9, at the SVA Flatiron Gallery, 141/133 West 21st Street, New York City.

Unicode is an international computing industry standard that assigns numeric values to individual characters in any language or script, allowing data to be transported across different platforms, devices and applications. Similarly, the exhibition encompasses different styles of mark-making in order to convey meaning through visual language. Works on view include installation, sculpture, painting and collage.

Participating artists include Élan, Saneun Hwang, Kohzy Koh, Zhuowen Ma, Keiko Nabila and Melanie Reese.

Élan’s series of collages, North American Colloquial Oration, explores formality and informality in American visual language, and how this language defines American identity.

Saneun Hwang’s Jamsil.Zip uses non-linear narrative to convey the artist’s experience in Seoul, South Korea, while also critiquing urban development.

Kohzy Koh’s (tranquil-inlet-58238) imagines social relationships as water’s surface. Using log chat messages with 17 peers, the artist builds a rippling pool where each color-coded drip represents a chat message received.

Zhuowen Ma seeks newness and spontaneity in the playful space between abstract and narrative painting.

Keiko Nabila’s paintings inspire a feeling of childhood nostalgia using an adult approach. Sourcing colors from contemporary art and fashion, each line and shape is meticulously curated in Adobe Photoshop before being placed on canvas.

Melanie Reese’s paintings draw on Tarot to explore the allegory of “The Woman” on her journey and struggle through an oppressive, hierarchical socio-political climate. Through the use of atmosphere, color association and symbolic gesture, she develops a ‘deck of cards’ in which certain trumps are presented that must either be triumphed over or considered important enough to fight for.

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 to the annual SVA Galleries call for entries, whose submissions undergo a rigorous examination of presented materials, including documentation of work and artist statements.

Exhibition

UNICODE

SVA Flatiron Gallery

Reception