The First Year MFA exhibition of the Columbia School of the Arts at the Wallach Gallery (located, naturally, in Schermerhorn) ended yesterday. Entitled And after a pause, it continued, the exhibition was first brought to Bwog’s attention by a tipped picture of what looked eerily like something Booth Jonathan would create and then trap a girl inside. We were instantly intrigued, and trooped over to get a taste of the talent Columbia students have.

The entire exhibit, though, was far more incredible than any Girls reference: dozens of mediums were used, from “traditional” photography and painting to a sensory-overload piece featuring dolls, TV monitors, and other visceral material objects that took up an entire room; single-hued works sat next to psychedelic levels of color; kitsch was juxtaposed with technology, and it wasn’t forced or tired. Since a picture says a thousand words, and since this reviewer doesn’t have the vocabulary or expertise to do justice to the art below, we’ll give you 11,000 words’ worth of review in the gallery after the jump — a gallery that unfortunately only captures a few of the works that were on display, but hopefully communicates the mood of the space. The only question we’ll offer to readers is: can you guess which work incorporates dried blood and semen, according to the exhibit program?

The artists:
Tatiana Berg, Esteban Cabeza De Baca, James Case-Leal, Pamela Council, Zach Eichelberger, Jack Eriksson, David Gbur, Gregory Gentert, Anna Glantz, Ben Hagari, Ali Harrington, Davey Hawkins, Christina Sukhgian Houle, Heidi Howard, Katie Kline, Jeremy Mazzenga, Jason Murphy, Alyssa Piro, Bruno Pogacnik Wukodrakula, Victoria Roth, Matt Taber, Jesse Wakeman, Patrice Washington, Owen Westberg, Shahar Yahalom, Tuguldur Yondonjamts. Curated by Jenny Jaskey.

Note: The final image is a panorama of an exhibit that’s within a small room; the actual piece is not two-dimensional as depicted.