Parsons Fine Arts 2016 MFA Thesis Exhibition
Curated by: Alhena Katsof
May 6 – May 14, 2016

OPENING RECEPTION:
Thursday, May 5th 6:00 – 9:00 PM.

PARTICIPANT INC.
253 E Houston Street
New York, NY 10002
  

I Can Because You Do is offered as an exhibition framework to foreground artistic practice, and the myriad forms of inspiration that engender it. The phrase, borrowed from the critic and writer Jan Verwoert, comes alive in the suggestive capacity of the conjunctive. Throughout their graduate work, and especially in the artworks brought forth for this exhibition, these artists explore ideas that exist in the and, with, and through. They speak to socio-political and cultural phenomena; processes of migration and translation; systems and hierarchies; the interface between nature, humans, and technology; fantastical, textual, and visual languages. In his writing, Verwoert describes “moving towards a politics of dedication” in response to the contemporary experience of divided time. This experience–being here and elsewhere at once–is eloquently described by the theorist Paul Virilio as meeting at a distance. Virilio writes extensively about time and causality, especially as they are impacted by new technologies. They are fitting references, not least of all because they speak to the unique experience of making art within the context of the MFA.

Parsons MFA in Fine Arts is a dynamic two-year, cross-disciplinary program committed to expanding the formal, intellectual and conceptual dimensions of emerging artists’ work. We foster studio-based research and scholarship that extends the boundaries of contemporary cultural expression, developed through a global understanding of the arts. Parsons Fine Arts is committed to diversity among students and faculty that provides a  potent learning community.  Housed within both Parsons School of Design and The New School University, the Fine Arts program is uniquely positioned within a progressive educational environment. Our international student body may access a wide spectrum of activities, ranging from rigorous formal and aesthetic investigations to cross-disciplinary collaborations with design, performing arts and humanities students, to public forums that address pressing social and political concerns.