An exhibition of the 2006 School of Visual Arts MFA Graduates curated by Dan Cameron.

The title of the exhibition, A Delicate Arrangement, refers to the treacherous path of MFA graduates entering the high-stakes commercial gallery world. It also points, with a degree of literalness, to the unusual circumstances surrounding the show’s genesis.

The idea for an exhibition of the entire graduating class grew out of the students’ desire to mount a group exhibition at the completion of their full two years in the MFA program. Due to time and space limitations of SVA’s exhibition space, thesis exhibitions are often scheduled shortly after the 3rd semester of study, so many students felt that these shows, while excellent, did not always represent the full development of their work.

Dan Cameron, professor of the group’s final seminar in Critical Theory, came on board after being asked by the entire class to work with them in assembling and hanging the show. After a two-month search for an empty storefront space or nonprofit venue, he encouraged the students to approach several commercial spaces to ask if such an exhibition would be possible.

While many gallery names were tossed around, from small Brooklyn spaces to up-and-coming galleries, a student walked in to David Zwirner Gallery and asked if they would be willing to make their space available. To the surprise of Dan Cameron and everyone in the MFA Department at SVA, the David Zwirner Gallery said “Yes” and agreed to host the exhibition at no cost to the students.

But the question must be asked, at a time when other MFA programs are erecting walls to protect their students from the pressures of the market and P.S.1’s Greater New York show is characterized as having an air of pedophilia, is it presumptuous of these students to show in one of the city’s elite art galleries? Perhaps, but when people ask how this show ended up at one of the most prestigious galleries in New York, the students simply say, “We asked.”

Students from the SVA Class of 2006 have recently exhibited at P.S.1, M.Y. Art Prospects, High Desert Test Sites 05, Longwood Arts Project, and will be included in upcoming exhibitions at Caren Golden Fine Art, Nicole Klagsbrun Gallery, James Cohan Gallery and others.

ARTISTS EXHIBITING:

Negar Ahkami, Jill Alexander, Jeffrey Beebe, Steven Bindernagel, Brent Birnbaum, Matthew Bradley, Shannon Brunette, Bradley Castellanos, Tim Clifford, Dan Drossman, Nicole Fernandez, Sean Christopher Fogle, Moo Kwon Han, Allison Hester, Gavin Kenyon, Christine Sun Kim, Tae Yeun Kim, Evonne Krawiec, Adam Krueger, Hyejin Kwon, Dylan Mortimer, Alla Nemchenok, Ted O’Sullivan, Sangbin Park, Pete Petrine, Ted Riederer, Ricky Sears, Josh Shaddock, Rita Sobral Campos, Ricardo Valentim, Jae K. Youn