August is harvest time for the yearly crop of new art grads. Irvine Contemporary, Conner Contemporary, and Project 4 are each hosting shows featuring the ripest of the bunch, their walls, ceilings, and floors strewn with the efforts of these Bachelor and Master of Fine Art recipients. DCist couldn't resist grabbing a basket of our own, so over the next few weeks we'll be tracking down the Up and Comers, those we think are especially worthy of your attention -- and if you're the gambling type, maybe even a hefty investment.

First, however, we turn our eye to the shows as a whole, and if you were thinking, "Man, I haven't seen nearly enough damn creepy art," Irvine Contemporary has what you need with their show, Introductions 2. Entering the gallery you're greeted by a series of dolls, and I don't mean Barbie and Friends. They're Melissa Ichiuji's (BFA, Corcoran) "doll-like sculptures," which she assembles with everything from pantyhose to buffalo hooves. Afternoon Delight is a pair of girls sewn with antique-looking fabric screen-printed with scenes of young lovers. While their romantic skin and flat chests say "innocent," their full hips, swollen genitalia, animal horns, and position -- one standing behind the other, who's bent over at the waist -- tell a different story.

Ichijui's exploration of adolescent sexuality is both fascinating and supremely disturbing, but that might be less because of her sculptures' plain vulgarity, and more because it throws in our faces things we, adults, would rather pretend don't exist. While we try to look we away, Ichijui pulls us back with her intricate handiwork, such as the small figs covered in multicolored thread and bursting through the pantyhose covering Fertile Girl (pictured).

The creepiness continues in a slightly different incarnation with Emily Denlinger's (MFA, Maryland Institute College of Art) photographic collages. She creates detailed miniature puppets, and tries to bring them to life by photographing them in front of her handmade theater sets. Denlinger's effort to bring a somewhat tired medium and somewhat tired subject matter (she, too, explores adolescent sexuality), is only just outweighed by her technical skill and mastery of set-making. Only just.

Randy Toy and Joseph McSpadden (MFAs, Virginia Commonwealth University), on the other hand, embrace their technical skill as the art itself. Toy is well on his way to becoming a remarkable printmaker, and shows off his skill at Irvine with Gold (220). The large framed print is actually a series of three-inch squares, each one painted and gold leafed by hand in slightly different combinations, so that every square has a unique tone and finish. The end-product is a 22K glittering print that belongs in an Indian palace.

As opposed to Toy, who plays with gradients, McSpadden plays with the functionality of a particular material. His creations with oil paint are actually sculptures that seek to defy the inherent traits of this medium. While oil paint is notorious for its long drying time (which is why some painters prefer it; they have weeks to alter their work) and it's ability to blend easily into the surrounding pigments, McSpadden eschews both those features. Three untitled works hang like long rods on the wall. With a single piece of canvas in the middle, he stacks reds, yellows, and pinks on top of one another. Contrary to the oil's nature to refuse such an assembly, the paint is sturdy enough to support the entire sculpture and has not blended or diffused the bright coloration of each layer.

You'll find two bright stars occupying the back room, as you finish your tour of the show. Courtney Jordan (MFA, Maryland Institute College of Art) explores bridge architecture by using a little bit of a "what is that" point-of-view. In last week's Arts Agenda I hoped that in person her work would look like a "drafting sketch of the super-duper escalator tube of the future," and damn if it doesn't. Her industrial, geometric ink drawings use layering of semi-opaque mylar to create a rich depth.

Try not to get too wrapped up in Jordan's work, or you'll back straight into Evan Morgan's (BFA, Maryland Institute College of Art) snake in jar, like this writer nearly did. And yes, I said snakes in a motherf**kin' jar. Not just any jar, though, but gorgeously hand-blown glass, which Morgan uses to explore hidden fears. While one carries his deceased pet snake (obviously not his fear, but it'll do just fine for this viewer), while another is carefully mirrored on the inside, reflecting a fear of -- you guessed it -- yourself.

Irvine Contemporary is located at 1412 14th Street, NW and is open Tuesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Introductions 2 runs until September 2.