WHO: MFA second-year candidates from the University of Pennsylvania's Graduate School of Fine Arts.

WHAT: An exhibition of the artwork of the MFA Class of 2002

WHEN: Nov. 18-Dec. 1

WHERE: Meyerson Gallery, 210 S. 34th St., Philadelphia

EVENT: Benefit Silent Auction and Opening Reception, Nov. 21,, 7-10 p.m., with a preview for Penn faculty and staff from 3 to 5 p.m.

The Master of Fine Arts show on display from Nov. 18 to Dec. 1 will highlight the work of Penn's 17 emerging artists and serve as a prelude to the MFA thesis show this spring. These artists represents many directions in contemporary art.

The work of sculptor Kate Norton promises humor and intrigue. She uses eccentric found materials such as fur, rubber and velvet to construct forms that hover between spiritual totems and wearable art.

Susan Ziegler's etchings reveal whimsical worlds comprised of organic floral mutations, referencing her research (Susan Coslett Fellowship) in Costa Rican rainforests.

The works of William Holton and Suchitra Mattai, both Daedalus Fellow nominees, deal with organic abstraction drawing from intricate patterns and natural forms.

Other artists, such as Mark Pease and Michele Colomer, draw from popular visual culture in which the images range from geometric building facades to heavy metal album covers.

In the work of Maya Brym, Erica Baclawski and Kate Stewart, swimming pools, majestic mountain ranges and domestic interiors are explored to reveal metaphysical landscapes.

Meyerson Gallery
210 S. 34th St.
Monday-Friday, 9 a,m,-5 p.m.
Free admission
www.upenn.edu/gsfa