The NYU Curatorial Collaborative is currently holding senior honors student exhibitions from Feb. 3 to March 6 at 80 Washington Square East. Student-led since 2014, the NYU Curatorial Collaborative groups Institute of Fine Arts graduate students and Ph.D. candidates and senior Bachelor of Fine Arts studio art students together to showcase new exhibitions around campus. 

There are a total of five exhibitions — grouped under the title “Between/Beyond: Considering Boundaries” — including “The Universal in the Personal,” “We Used to Hold Hands in the Corner,” “In Search of Vibrant Matter,” “Art of the In-Between” and “Make Space/Give Place,” that are displayed over five weeks in succession.

Featuring a wide range of pieces that utilize both traditional and digital mediums, the exhibitions explore collective relationships and fissions that exist within society. Additionally, the exhibitions display the significance of material to the finished artwork. For Steinhardt senior David Ma, a member of the collaborative, the exhibition is not only about delving deeper into one’s experience, but it also invites and welcomes the audience. 

“The topics range from generational curses, breaking norms, figuring ourselves out in these troubling times and changing everything we know about the world,” Ma said. “We wanted to be more open, allow people to come in, and show artworks that were more intimate and that they could also relate to because it’s somewhat of a universal experience, yet it’s also an individual experience.”

Ma, an interdisciplinary artist, displayed paintings, video and ceramic pieces throughout his “The Universal in the Personal” exhibition. With his glazed ceramic piece “Childhood Star,” Ma explores the representation of familial roles within East Asian households and emphasizes the intention of the sculpture’s interactiveness and tangibility.

“I created this piece so that the viewer is able to take off this mask and sit on the chair — so it’s two separate pieces,” Ma said. “As you’re holding this really heavy mask and sitting on this uncomfortable chair, you’re forced to hide the expressions of this comfort or any other nonconforming emotions. It’s supposed to let the audience experience this role.”

The IFA curators paired works from two students with similar interests before reviewing selections from their portfolios. Afterward, the curators and student artists had to come up with one specific theme together.

First-year IFA graduate student Allison Carey said that artists to whom she spoke about her ideas were very excited for the exhibition.

“I think it was a way of uniting two very distinct practices under one theme and I think all three of our hopes for the space is that when viewers are in there, they can reflect on what falls outside of our normal vernacular, or our normal modes of identifying things or people or states of being,” said Carey. 

Since much of Carey’s previous curating experience involved working with larger established artists, she said being a part of a tight-knit group of NYU artists was an especially rewarding experience.

“I learned a lot about the artists’ process and the artists’ perspectives, and how to really work together and find a vision that both the artists and curators are contributing,” Carey said. “As a curator, I can come and take these ideas that they’re trying to convey through their art, and help put that into a form or words that anyone can understand, regardless of if they have a background in art history.”

Meanwhile, another group of Steinhardt and IFA students have been working on creating a virtual exhibition, which opens Feb. 24. The virtual exhibition, titled “Retro/Intro,” will complement the in-person exhibitions and draw upon topics related to social injustice and the pandemic. First-year graduate student Sofia Ohmer described the virtual exhibition as an opportunity to reflect on feedback and comprehend artists’ personal insights.

“I always think you get better ideas working with different people and we all have different fields of interest,” Ohmer said. “And that was really interesting — actually really helpful for connecting our 10 artists.”

Due to the pandemic, most exhibitions in the past two years have been displayed online. Ohmer believes that using digital platforms to view and exhibit art benefits the community.

“The idea of curating works online maybe doesn’t seem that appealing because you want to do it in person and get in contact with the people,” Ohmer said. “But I also feel that there are a lot of opportunities curated online as the show will be accessible for everyone … I feel like the online exhibition is like a new way of creating which is also really interesting to me.”

Although the NYU Curatorial Collaborative puts a greater emphasis on the interaction and relationship between students, the faculty of the Steinhardt studio art department also play an important role. They accepted the senior students’ art and spent time strategizing and discussing the steps to successfully execute their work throughout the process.

“It’s such a wonderful experience to see an exhibition developed from ideas in the studio all the way to experimentation in outside-of-the-studio research, and then the final project as it comes together in the gallery,” said Shadi Harouni, who chairs the undergraduate studio art program at Steinhardt. “This is the privilege of being an art professor and working with young artists. It’s something that I know well as an artist. But it’s something that never stops being joyful and chaotic — always very enjoyable.”

The partnership between Steinhardt and the IFA provides students with opportunities to actively engage and contribute ideas with faculty and peers in other schools. 

“I think it is an incredible model for how we can collaborate and also sustain that collaboration,” Harouni said. “What’s very unique about this program is that every year the exhibitions are different, the spirit of the program is different because it is defined by the students that are a part of it. But students change, even faculty change, staff changes, but the collaboration continues.” 

The in-person exhibition is open exclusively to the NYU community from noon to 6 p.m. from Thursdays through Sundays until March 6.

Future senior studio art exhibitions will take place later this semester at The Commons and Rosenberg Galleries located in the Barney Building at 34 Stuyvesant St.

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IFA curators:

Juul Van Haver, Barbie Kim, Eve Sperling, Allison Carey, Madi Shank, Andy Ho Tung Cheng, Elyse Howell, Sofia Ohmer and Grace Oller.

Senior artists:

David Ma, Caleb Williams, Sarah Goldman, Nina Molloy, Brock Riggins, Rhea Barve,  Delia Pelli-Walbert, Kris Waymire, Talia Deane, Ebony Joiner, Isabella Crespo, Ari Kim, Melonie Knight, Isabella Kurkulis, Sophie Lewis, Catherine Wang McMahon, Amalia Mederios, Sonia Miklaucic, John Payvalias and Hannah Rothbard.

Contact Yuna Baek at [email protected].