"Water World" organized by Ivan Kudin (online exhibition)
About the Exhibition
Have you ever wondered what our world might have looked like, if not for that one prehistoric fish that decided to crawl out of the primordial ocean, in turn setting in motion the complex processes of evolution that ultimately led to the birth of human civilization? What kind of creatures would be populating the ocean, if 99% percent of the world was still covered in water?
While centering the imaginative artworks created by the artists of NIAD, ranging from glazed ceramics to prints, Water World dares to feature a parallel reality, where humans never had the chance to emerge and demolish entire marine ecosystems, and instead giant creatures still ruled the underwater world.
About the Organizer
Ivan Kudin is an aspiring curator currently living and working in Europe. After immigrating to the United States from Russia, Ivan graduated with his BA in Art History from San Francisco State University, and is currently pursuing a career in curating and art handling. During his last semester of university, Ivan was able to work on a collectively organized online exhibition for NIAD titled “I Dreamt the Sun Was in My Bed”. Along with his peers, Ivan received the chance to choose and curate works from the NIAD catalog that best illustrate the transcendental and exuberant power of art.
Besides being interested in accessibility, during his time at SFSU, Ivan Kudin focused on sustainability and the re-centering of nature and animals in the arts. Inspired by indigenous philosophies, Ivan became interested in art that primarily depicts plants and animals, and that allows the audience to participate in the exercise of imagining a world without human intervention.
