CalArts MFA Class of 2023
Opening Reception: Saturday, Jan. 20, 12-4 pm
Remarks by Steven Lam, dean of the School of Art, at 1 pm
Programming:
Thursday, Jan. 25, 7 pm
Film Screening
Heavy Manners Library, 1200 N Alvarado St, Los Angeles, CA 90026
Saturday, Jan. 27, 6 am–6 pm
Sunrise to Sunset: The Book of Hours in Performance
UTA Artist Space
Saturday, Feb. 3, 12 pm
Performance Program & Closing Reception
UTA Artist Space
UTA Artist Space is pleased to present “Infrastructures,” an exhibition by the CalArts MFA Class of 2023. On view from Jan. 20–Feb. 3, 2024, “Infrastructures” brings together the work of 38 CalArts graduates from the MFA 2023 cohort in the Art, Art & Technology, and Photography & Media programs and includes painting, sculpture, photography, installation, and video. The exhibition will close with an event featuring readings, performances, and other time-based works, organized by Greg Jenkins (Film/Video MFA 2023), an artist who runs a curatorial project called the New Arts Foundation.
In general terms, infrastructure is the overarching logic or connective tissue in a system. In the present reality, it may refer to a transportation system, health care, the internet, a globalized economy, the government, or any number of other institutional formations—many of which seem too vast to fully approach or comprehend and seem especially precarious in an often-nebulous post-pandemic moment. More locally, infrastructure may refer to the educational system in which these artists came together and formed a cohort.
Infrastructures can enable modes of care, environmental justice, freedom of thought, and are often entwined with our global collective humanity. But what do we do when a structural framework no longer supports us when infrastructure fractures? Is a faulty structure something that can be retained—and if so—do we reconfigure it, or simply document it? When do we know a structure is no longer sound (or when do we realize that it never was); in such a case, do we mock it, burrow through it, or even destroy it? These artists respond to these questions while exploring the often-tenuous infrastructures of a politically-charged present, charting a diverse array of approaches to representing the world and self.
“I’m particularly proud of this year’s graduating class. They all have created communities and lasting friendships in a moment marked by uncertainty and regressions. While art school friendships may seem like a small gesture in the context of today’s upheavals — these everyday relations suggest that structural and interpersonal forms of aid and community are necessary conditions for repair, inspiration, and hope” remarks Steven Lam, Dean of the School of Art.
This year’s post-graduate exhibition was organized with Meghan Gordon (MFA Art 2014), who conducted studio visits with artists throughout the Spring semester. Intended to provide context and visibility, this show provides an opportunity for recent graduates to connect with alumnx of CalArts and to share their experiences and their work with the community at large. Demonstrating their ongoing commitment to community post-graduation, the Class of 2023 cohort has pledged to donate a portion of the exhibition’s proceeds to Summaeverythang, a community center and fresh produce distribution hub founded by CalArts alum Lauren Halsey.
“The CalArts Post-grad show is an important tradition and a collective rite of passage. It marks the end of the students’ time at CalArts and their dispersal into the world beyond,” notes Michael Ned Holte, Associate Dean and faculty in the School of Art. “In quieter ways, the show also defines a definitive cohort who have been and will often continue to be the most important audience for one another’s work. Of all the determining factors a prospective student considers before entering an MFA program—the program’s historical reputation, its faculty, its facilities, financial stakes, and so on—the least predictable is the exact constituency of the incoming cohort. And yet this unpredictable factor is probably the most important one in shaping a student’s experience.”
PARTICIPATING ARTISTS
Alex Hawthorn, Andrew Moses, Antonio Okun, Ásgerður “Ása” Arnardóttir, Bethlehem Tsehai, Chris Johst, Christine Gaffney, Clemente Ciarrocca, David B. Jang, Erick Antonio Benitez, GIAHN, Gwendolyn Moon, Hyunju Lee, Joey Ye Zhouyi, Jonathon Hornedo, Jules Hyun, Jungsub Eom, Kathi Schulz, Kathleen Nolan, Kenix Xiaoqing Liang, Laura Ohio, lauren mcavoy, Lisa Banta, malavika rao, May Caiwei Chen, Rosa Sarholz, Rose Tsang, Shiqing Ban, Sohyong Lee, Teresa Piecuch, Tom Ryan, Wes Weisbaum, Yang Weihan, Yasaman Alipour, Yue Liu, Zac Zhongxu Chen, ZhenZhen Zhong, Zoe Josephina Moon
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