Current exhibitions by SVA alumni contemplate the links between man and nature, and the organic and synthetic. Bo Kim’s (MFA 2013 Fine Arts) “No Small Potatoes” offers a subtle meditation on basic form in various permutations. Kim’s thinly layered, oil-on-canvas paintings illustrate unexpected associations between basic geometric structures and the environments built around them. Unconventional compositions balance hand-drawn circles and rectangles with a delicate mauve palette alluding to the natural functionality of organic form. On view at Chashama Gallery, 461 West 126 Street, through February 12.
Eleven Rivington celebrates the late artist Moira Dryer (BFA 1981 Fine Arts) with the “Moira Dryer Project,” an exhibition of her abstract paintings from the late 1980s through the early 1990s. Dryer, who was known for her distinct casein on plywood pieces, coupled a forward-thinking sensibility and gritty authenticity to produce paintings wrought with emotive texture and physicality. On view at Eleven Rivington, 11 Rivington Street, through February 22.
Thordis Adalsteinsdottir’s (MFA 2003 Fine Arts) public art sculpture Bear Eats Man illustrates the volatile relationship between man and nature, drawing attention to the thin veil of time separating life and death. Situated among the trees, a crude, spray-foam and concrete man stands upright as a wild shingled-wood bear bites down into his shoulder. The nude man’s forward gaze and stoic facial expression convey vulnerability as the human body yields to nature. In the spirit of pessimism and realism, Adalsteinsdottir’s piece tells a story of staggering violence and the unpredictability of adrenaline-fueled shock. On view at Socrates Sculpture Park, 32-01 Vernon Blvd, Long Island City, Queens, through March 31.
Image: Painting by Bo Kim.