SAN JOSE, CA.-The San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art is proud to present NextNew2007, an annual exhibition featuring work of emerging artists. This year 11 promising MFA graduates throughout the state of California , handpicked by prominent professors, will be on view from August 3 – September 22, 2007. The opening reception will take place August 10 from 6:00 to 8:00 pm.

This year the ICA invited distinguished faculty from MFA programs throughout the state of California to nominate recent graduates to exhibit in NextNew2007. The works in the exhibition reflect the broad perspectives present in the contemporary artistic landscape, showing innovative approaches to new media, installation, photography, painting and sculptural work.

Faculty nominators include: John Baldessari, University of California, Los Angeles; Enrique Chagoya, Stanford University; Lewis deSoto, San Francisco State University; Amy Ellingson, San Francisco Art Institute; Johanna Poethig, California State University, Monterey Bay; Maria Porges, California College of the Arts; Lucy Puls, University of California, Davis; Ron Nagle, Mills College; Katherine Sherwood, University of California, Berkeley; Catherine Wagner, Mills College; Stan Welsh, San Jose State University; and Michael Woodcock, Pitzer College.

The emerging artists selected by this esteemed group of nominators are Binta Ayofemi, Jennifer Brandon, Ali Dadgar, Ema Harris-Sintamarian, Mary Elisabeth Higgins O’Connor, Lauren Lavitt, Tom Mueske, Amy Sampson, Kim Schoenstadt, Susan van der Mellen, and Allison Watkins.