SU’s College of Visual and Performing Arts to present inaugural M.F.A. exhibition in New York City July 17-Aug. 1

SU’s College of Visual and Performing Arts to present inaugural M.F.A. exhibition in New York City July 17-Aug. 1June 24, 2009Erica Blustesblust@syr.edu

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.