2008 Graduate Exhibition May 8, 2008

Opening reception: Thursday, May 8, 6-9 p.m.
Hours: Open daily, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.
Cost: Free
Info: 415.551.9214

CALIFORNIA COLLEGE OF THE ARTS PRESENTS ITS
2008 GRADUATE EXHIBITION
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San Francisco, CA, April 7, 2008--California College of the Arts (CCA) will present its 2008 Graduate Exhibition from Thursday, May 8, through Saturday, May 17 (10 a.m.-6 p.m. daily), with an opening reception on May 8 from 6-9 p.m. The exhibition features projects by nearly 50 artists graduating this spring from the college’s MFA program in the fine arts. The presentation unfolds throughout CCA’s San Francisco campus, giving visitors an opportunity to tour most of the college. The exhibition and opening reception are free and open to the public.

Bay Area art schools have become increasingly visible in recent years as more and more nationally and internationally renowned artists emerge from their ranks. This exhibition is a unique opportunity for the public to see the newest student work that is expanding the boundaries of photography, painting, sculpture, textiles, video, installation, animation, digital media, and performance. Organized by faculty member and critic Glen Helfand, the show features a compelling range of media, styles, and subjects. Says Helfand: “The presentation allows the rich range of work to be in conversation. In this way, the show really expresses the dynamic qualities of the program’s artistic community.”

The featured works take unblinking looks at complex family structure, self-portraiture, organized crime, psychological states, queer family, the effects of global immigration on identity, and a vast number of other topics and issues. One large-scale drawing project turns a family home into a stage set. Another work presents wrestling as a means of interpersonal connection. Yet another project looks at the nature of the art market via a bartering catalog that, rather than listing prices, expresses what artists are willing to exchange for their pieces.

All of the artists show a deft handling of materials, from the industrial and machine made to the obsessively hand crafted. One artist, for example, offers viewers a direct experience of the act of making cloth through an interactive loom. Another artist, in honor of the election year, presents several works on paper that reveal the secret lives, and unexpectedly muscular bodies, of past American presidents.

Images and interviews with the artists are available upon request.

About California College of the Arts
Founded in 1907, California College of the Arts is noted for the interdisciplinarity and breadth of its programs. It offers studies in 20 undergraduate and seven graduate majors in the areas of fine arts, architecture, design, and writing. The college offers bachelor of architecture, bachelor of arts, bachelor of fine arts, master of architecture, master of arts, master of fine arts, and master of business administration degrees. With campuses in Oakland and San Francisco, CCA currently enrolls more than 1,600 full-time students. Noted alumni include the painters Nathan Oliveira and Raymond Saunders; the ceramicists Robert Arneson, Viola Frey, and Peter Voulkos; the filmmaker Wayne Wang; the conceptual artists David Ireland and Dennis Oppenheim; and the designers Lucille Tenazas and Michael Vanderbyl.

Official Website: http://cca.edu