BFA Fine Arts

School of Visual Arts, New York

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Once Upon a Time

On the left is a purple and pink piece that looks like wall paper peeling off and layered, on the right is a piece that is made of a collection of tree branches on a brown textured background, both pieces are hung up on the wall right next to each other

Exhibition

Once Upon a Time

February 28-March 11 2017
Curated by: Suzanne Anker
Location: SVA Chelsea Gallery
Opening reception: Thursday, March 2, 2017. 6-8pm

Artists

Kesewa Aboah, Maumoon Ahmad, Alana Austin, Emma Fague, Raquel Hazell, Ella Hilsenrath, Mahyar Kalari, Seoyoung Kim, Shinnosuke Miyake, Viktorea Nagibina, Natalie Ochoa, Maria Semenenko, Eduardo Solana and Logan Swedick

An installation view of the exhibition titled, "Once Upon A Time" at the SVA Chelsea Gallery. A sculpture by Ella Hilsenrath is featured in the center of the photograph with other artworks hanging on the walls in the background.

School of Visual Arts and BFA Fine Arts present “Once Upon a Time…,” curated by department chair Suzanne Anker. The exhibition is on view Tuesday, February 28, through Saturday, March 11, at the SVA Chelsea Gallery, 601 West 26th Street, 16th floor, New York City. Admission is free and open to the public.

“Once Upon a Time…” the world was considered flat and the earth the center of the universe. We now speak of a global geography which intersects the practices of diverse cultures and habits. Currently, however, we are faced with false news, alternative facts, gentrification, xenophobia and racism. But we can still dream of the survival of the beautiful, fair social practices and delights of the imagination. We can dream of equality for all.

As globalization transforms the receding industrial age into our current information age, and as data continues to pile up at an exponential rate, our world has become utterly reconfigured—ideologically, economically, technologically and aesthetically. An all-pervading media buzz blurs and deafens any careful examination necessary to make distinctions—subtle or otherwise—about what is at stake. In light of the recent American Apocalypse and the growing importance of symbols and their interpretation, can artists become a useful political force in at least representing an antidote to historical amnesia? Creativity is our ally.

“Once Upon a Time…” represents the diversity of media as practiced in the BFA Fine Arts Department. From video to video mapping to sculpture, painting and drawing, the works exhibited here reflect our current state of affairs. The exhibition highlights those born in the USA, combined with students whose heritage is English, Ghanian, Iranian, Russian, Dominican, Japanese, Israeli, Kashmiran and Korean.

An installation view of the exhibition titled, A purple and pink tapestry piece next to a brown art piece with branches on the left white wall, five black and white photographs of various sizes on the back wall, a black and white print leaning on the back wall on the floor to the right On the left is a purple and pink piece that looks like wall paper peeling off and layered, on the right is a piece that is made of a collection of tree branches on a brown textured background, both pieces are hung up on the wall right next to each other Sculpture of two people with their knees bent and face in one of their arms, there are plastic bags over their heads, and they are installed against the white wall connected at the feet so one is right side up and the other is upside down like a reflection of the first one, there is a purple and pink and brown piece of artwork displayed in the background Sculpture of two people with their knees bent and face in one of their arms, there are plastic bags over their heads, and they are installed against the white wall connected at the feet so one is right side up and the other is upside down like a reflection of the first one, to the left there is a sculpture of two people right next to each other in the same pose, but stuck on the side and facing the gallery wall so you can't see their front Installation with two tubes that are hanging down from the wall, on the floor there is a bike rack sculpture with a piece of foam on top of the middle bend, and two yellow chairs with no seats on the right of the bike rack Installation view on the left there is two sculptures that look like sinks without the sink, in front is an installation of 108 gloves in the back is a small pedestal and various wall sculptures 108 gray gloves placed next to each other forming a square, alternating between palm up and pam down, with neon orange on the top and neon yellow with reflective gray stripe Red, black, white, blue, gold traditional styled rug is on the floor with some images and light projected onto the middle geometric motifs of the rug Five photographs hung on the wall, from left to right there are three smaller black and white photographs of a person, a large rectangular photograph of the same person, a smaller light blue photograph, and one photograph that is on the floor leaning against the wall On the left there is a square indigo projection onto some pieces installed on the wall, there's also a teal projection next to it also projecting onto some pieces on the wall, on the right there is a yellow wall with fake windows, blue curtains, and two teal doors A sculpture of a metal X with green round edison lightbulbs on top of it, some of the lightbulbs are dim and not lit up but most of them are A sculpture of a metal X with green round edison lightbulbs on top of it, some of the lightbulbs are dim and not lit up but most of them are, in the distance there is a similar piece shaped like an arrow with red lightbulbs Sculpture with a metal frame and a piece of sheet metal in the shape of a long octagon tied to the metal frame with thick metal wire, it sits in the center of the frame A black and white horizontal scroll drawing is hung up on the white wall, in the center on the floor there is a sculpture that looks like a stool or small table with a translucent case on top Interactive installation on the wall there is a sign that says Interactive installation on the wall there is a sign that says Interactive installation on the wall there is a sign that says Two wall sculptures hung up next to each other, they both are masks with pink faces, blue eyes, and green noses, on a yellow piece of fabric with green polka dots, below each one there is a shirt that is sewn with pink fabric on top, and green fabric with neon yellow lines and accents, orange dots, and peach fabric next to it Four textile pieces are hung up on the wall on the left, in the background there is a wall shelf and a glass case displaying other pieces, there are ten black and white photographs hung up on the wall in the back and to the right Installation view of a white wall shelf with several rectangular drawings propped up next to each other there is a cup with human legs running on red dirt, a banana riding a bike, and other similar illustrations that continue Gallery view with a table displaying various books and prints in the foreground, in the back there are ten black and white prints/drawings hung up on the wall in two rows of five Three prints hung up horizontally with red and white stripes and a yellow, dark brown, orange shape on the bottom, the other two prints have the same shape, the print in the middle has the same shape but oriented upside down and it's blue and yellow and green, the print on the right has a green, dark green shape Close up of various books and prints on a table, the closest one has a red figure of a woman on a dark blue background, a portrait side view of a person showing their brain on a maroon background and an abstract illustration on a black background with white and yellow lines Four rectangular prints pinned on all four corners to a white wall, from left to right there is a print with a hand pointing to an eye with a pink lazer coming out of it with black borders, below that there are two hands, one gree and one yellow with chinese characters on the top right also with a black border, on the top right there is an eye with circles coming out of it on a magenta background, and below it is a foot that is blue and green with chinese characters above, below, left, and right, on the right side of the wall there are two prints hung vertically that have various text and black and light blue illustrations that show an orb with black lines and an orb with worms coming out of it Three rectangular prints of a woman holding her bottom lip open with her hand, from left to right the first one is yellow, then magenta, then white and black, the lips are all colored in red scribbles, and there is writing in blue on top of the hand, as well as some red scribbled accents on the eyelids and the nails Two prints that are rectangular with a pink to blue horizontal gradient background and six silhouettes of faces and hair printed on top in two rows of three, there are red stars drawn on top in the center of each print Gallery view with eight prints of various colors and sizes hung up on the wall, there are two pedestals that display books and prints in front of the wall Close up of a book that is yellow, blue, red, on white paper depicting some chickens and household objects and toys, on the bottom right of the page it says Close up of some books laid out on a white table, the books are colorful with various illustrations in them, the closest one has illustrations of people and animals with text surrounding each image Various prints are hung on the wall on the left and back of the gallery, on the right wall there are two yellow and green checkerboard quilted textile hangings with a red border and purple and white silkscreen piece in the center, there are pedestals that display various books and prints in the middle of the gallery Galery view with various colorful prints and drawings pinned on the wall, there are two long rectangular quilted textile hangings in the middle left wall with a red border, purple and white silkscreen, and yellow and green checkerboard pattern, in the center there is a white pedestal with books and other pieces on it Four prints hung up on the wall, they depict various iconography, from left to right the prints are on white background and printed in teal, maroon, yellow, and pink, there are two on each side, and in between the prints below it hung on the wall are three square paintings, two are hung next to each other and they have dark blue circle and a red circle in the center, below it in the center is a white square with a red triangle Close up of various books, theres a book opened with two people lying in blankets on a lawn sun bathing, one of wearing an orange bathing suit and the other is wearing orange and green shirt with blue and yellow shorts Close up of various prints, there is a teal background with a white dog with red outline the front paws are next to a pair of yellow heels with blue dots and blue outline A print that has a side view, front view, and back view of a naked woman in black and white is printed with the words Three paintings hung up on the wall, the one on the top left is green with white lettering in the center, below it is a yellow painting with red lettering and an image of a peace lily in the center and black wavy lines under it, the painting on the right is in a black and white checkerboard pattern with a table and various objects on top, with red, yellow, and blue text above it Two square paintings hung on a white wall next to each other, depicting birds and cicadas and other animals in nature, the paintings have drips and streaks on them, and are black, orange, yellow, blue, green, purple
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