For the uninitiated, a High Pass, HP, is the CalArtian mark of excellence. A distinction that suggests a student’s efforts are superlative, provided one abandons conventional accolades. In an era obsessed with standardized outcomes, CalArt’s students have opted for a more piquant and difficult path–the pursuit of a standard of their own devising. Paintings, photographs, sculptures, moving images, and a range of hybrid, mixed media works are on display.
While the students are coming to the end of one journey they’re also embarking on a new path outside the halls of CalArts. These young artists have grappled and continue to grapple with a quickly changing world that is riddled with uncertainty and unprecedented challenges. Each responded in kind with works that range from the humorous to the sincere. Some approach their practice philosophically, others the absurd. The hysterical and beautiful are also perfectly represented in this show. Regardless of each artist’s chosen strategy one thing remains consistent–the idiosyncratic and highly personal approach to art-making. It is a quintessential mark of the CalArts legacy–a refusal to be categorized and a commitment to excellence on one’s own terms.
Exhibiting Artists include: Rita Aldridge, Adrian Anguiano, Elyse Beavers, Raven Bridgewaters, Jessica Yuexi Chen, Indie Courtney, Xochitl Quetzalli Cruz, Sophie Darling, Ivan Nuñez DelaCruz, Angharad Fitzgerald, Jonathan Jin, Amaris Jordan, Riley Kate, Sadira Kuelling, Mackenzie Lord, Eugenia Moreeva, Ethan Nahman, Mike Nott, Elizaveta Novikova, Okey Ofomata, Natalee Park, Suzy Park, Abraham Perez, Ella Rose, Solomon Rosenthal, Frances Sheehy, Elliot Smolin, Marisa del toro, QQ Yi
