Pratt Manhattan Gallery’s new exhibition, To Live in the Imagination, centers the work of seven Pratt MFA Photography alumni who examine what it means to be called to imagine, dream, and create in the 21st century amid accelerated social and technological change. The show opens on Friday, June 28, and the reception will be held on Thursday, June 27, from 6 to 8pm.
Organized by artist, curator, and Pratt Visiting Associate Professor Sara VanDerBeek, the exhibition places works by seven Pratt alumni from the 2021–2023 classes in conversation with one another and incorporates a selection of singular works by the six graduates of the class of 2024. Existential essentials — such as memory, landscape, home, family, and the body — are shared subjects of inquiry and exploration among many of the included artists, while others address the shifting field of photographic representation.
“To Live in the Imagination provides a unique viewpoint into the work of recent Pratt alumni and sparks dialogue among viewers about art’s role as an essential form of communication and its ever-changing place in an advanced society,” said curator Sara VanDerBeek. “At a time when technology, artificial intelligence, and machine-learning is taking precedent, this exhibition will be an opportunity to consider the impact of change on the individual and collective.”
“At Pratt, our students are constantly encouraged to reflect on not only their immediate community but society and culture at large,” said Sharon Ebbner, Chairperson of Photography at Pratt Institute. “To Live in the Imagination is an inquisitive look into those broader themes and a needed reminder of why art, dreams, and connection must persist amid the change.”
The featured artists in the exhibition work across photographic mediums, including digital video, vinyl print on wood, laser print, and more, to represent a range of tools that can catalyze creation and reflect the use or avoidance of technology at large.
The full list of artists featured in the show at Pratt Manhattan Gallery includes Stephanie Espinoza, Rachel Handlin, Katharina Kiefert, Ethan Li, Megan Mack in collaboration with Abby Waters, Kristina Naso, Chloe Scout Nix, Erin O’Flynn, Jan Rattia, Kunwar Prithvi Singh Rathore, Lena Smart, Baillie Vensel, and Jingge Zhang.
To Live in the Imagination is open from June 28 through August 31 at 144 West 14th Street in New York City. Pratt Manhattan Gallery is free and open to the public.
For more information, visit pratt.edu.
