David Scanavino shares his art with KFUPM

As part of the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (Ithra) Bridges initiative for cross-cultural collaboration Ithra welcomed a number of artists from the United States of America (USA) to Saudi Arabia to work with local artists and students. David Scanavino is the 4th artist to participate in this program.

Mr. Scanavino, a multi-award-winning artist in the USA, shared his art with KFUPM by placing his piece in Building 68, Student Affairs’ Building on November 26, 2017.

The piece was about the relationship between geometry (or a mathematical abstraction) and some idea of human presence or form.  In other words, where something felt and intuitive intersects something precise and prescribed.   While the object relies on geometry for its form, the surface filled with fingerprints tells the story of how it was made and introduces a much more human mark or feeling.

Mr. Scanavino chose KFUPM to place one of his pieces because of the notable achievements of the University in the field of Engineering and Sciences and due to his desire to place the piece in a non-conventional art setting. A large part of this piece is the idea of material transformation, and choosing a school interested in geology and transforming oil into energy seemed appropriate.

Students chosen from the College of Environmental Design gave their support to Mr. Scanavino during the installation of his piece to help achieve its perfection. He said that, "the students were intelligent, thoughtful and curious. The staff was very generous and helpful and the campus was quite beautiful."

Mr. Scanavino currently lives and works in New York City.  A graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design (BFA Painting 2001) and the Yale University School of the Arts (MFA Painting 2003), Mr. Scanavino has exhibited widely in the past ten years in New York and across the United States.  He has had three solo museum exhibitions, "Imperial Texture" at the Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art, Ridgefield CT, "Candy Crush" at the Pulitzer Foundation of Art in St. Louis, MO, and "Repeater" at the Moody Center for the Arts at Rice University in Houston, TX.  After his first public commission for the Columbus Metropolitan Public Library in Columbus, Ohio, Mr. Scanavino has recently completed an installation at the King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.  He has had several solo gallery exhibitions with Klaus von Nichtssagend Gallery in New York, as well as solo and group exhibitions at Michael Benevento, Los Angeles; Marlborough Gallery Broome Street, New York; Team Gallery, New York; Bureau Gallery, New York; Marianne Boesky, New York; and Derek Eller Gallery, New York. His work has been reviewed in Art in America, ArtReview, The New York Times, and the New York Observer, along with numerous other publications.

 The Bridges Art program consists of 10 exhibitions and art residencies delivered by 50 prominent Saudi Artists in major museums and cultural institutions. The program includes activities for artists to engage in an Artists-in-Residence program, personality placements by Saudi artists and cultural figures, and enables fifty cultural leaders to visit Saudi Arabia, as well as hosting five US artists in the Kingdom. The Center completed 9 exhibitions The Bridges program hosted over 12 Saudi artists during the residency program in New York, and hosted 4 US-based artists in Saudi Arabia, as well as hosting 45 cultural influencers to Saudi Arabia.