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| | MFA Illustration as Visual Essay Thesis Projects
May 1 - 16, 2009
Reception: Tuesday, May 5, 6 - 8pm
School of Visual Arts (SVA) presents “Selected Works From MFA Illustration as Visual Essay Thesis Projects,” an exhibition that brings together books, figurative paintings, graphic novels and narrative series by 20 students graduating from the MFA Illustration as Visual Essay Department at SVA. The exhibition is curated by faculty member David Sandlin.
The MFA Illustration as Visual Essay Department at SVA, chaired by illustrator and painter Marshall Arisman, empowers artists to take a personal approach to the figure. Each student is guided by a thesis advisor to develop their works; this year’s advisors include Guy Billout, Paul Buckley, Maira Kalman, Viktor Koen, Peter Kuper, John Nickle, Yuko Shimizu, Ward Sutton, Jillian Tamaki, and Sam Weber.
Rachel Hope Allison’s I am not a plastic bag is a graphic novel that imagines the genesis of a gigantic island created from discarded plastic bags. At three times the size of Texas, the island continues to grow as ocean currents sweep more garbage bags onto its shore. The story follows just what?or who?might have created this remote Pacific island.
Josh Bayer’s comic book spans eighteen years in the life of Jimmy Valentine. The work chronicles his early years leading a Coney Island youth gang as well as his later years as a brain damaged ex-con struggling with his past. The visuals are influenced by the work of painters Paul Cadmus and George Tooker as well as many historical and cinematic sources from the 1950s - 1970s.
The stark drawings of Matt Cavanaugh are a visual soundtrack of American life filled with mystery and melancholy. Uncovering what the artist calls “the dark corners of society,” Cavanaugh’s black and white works have a cinematic quality highlighting overlooked moments, teen angst and “the roar of silence.”
YJ Lee will be represented by two books for children. Take a Stroll Around Night Sky with Tata is a fantasy book whose delicate imagery is united by a simple poem. The untitled second book explores the classic saying “what goes around, comes around” through a series of painterly illustrations.
The R. U. Fauna Department Store by Anna Raff is a series of images from a catalog promoting a fictitious full-service department store staffed solely by animals. The imagery includes portraits of the animals in their areas of expertise as well as images of products, which at first viewing might appear ordinary. However, the artist asks are these products meant to help the customer or serve as a survival device for the animals? A history of the store, shown in the form of a sepia-toned photo essay, will also be on view.
Nu Ryu presents a series of etchings and paintings inspired by animals and nature as well as a supplementary book, Ocean Meets Forest, which describes the hidden story of these images. Fueled by a passion for nature and a concern over global warming, Ryu places animals from around the globe into one imaginary forest. The works illustrate how the animals must cooperate in the face of dramatic change and explores the delicate balance of nature.
Sybille Schenker re-imagines the popular folk tale of Hansel and Gretel using a series of transparent and cut papers which strikingly highlight the depth and darkness of the forest. The multiple layers of the work encourages the reader to navigate the classic Brothers Grimm story in a haunting new way.
In SPLAT! BOOM! FUEGO!, Edwin Vazquez combines ancient pre-Columbian Aztec codices with a modern American comic book vocabulary to create work examining Hispanic-American identity. Vazquez is influenced by his grandfather’s Ecuadorian etching plates along with his fascination with comic books, cartoons and action figures.
Also exhibiting thesis projects are students Lisel Ashlock, Maria Berrio, You Byun, Andr? da Loba, Ray Jones, Yuriko Kator, Youngsun Liu, John MacConnell, Joanna Neborsky, Heejin Roh, Russ Spitkovsky and Rich Tu.
The MFA in Illustration as Visual Essay Department at SVA is designed to maximize students’ opportunities as figurative artists, from the conventional gallery wall to the full range of 21st-century media. The program fuses the development of creative thinking with technical and communication skills. Additional focus is placed on best practices in navigating the visual art marketplace while empowering students to choose making art as a way of life.
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| | Visual Arts Gallery
601 West 26 Street, 15th floor
New York,
NY 10001
212.592.2145
The Visual Arts Gallery is SVA's premier exhibition facility. Located in Chelsea on the 15th floor of the landmark Starrett-Lehigh Building, it comprises four state of the art galleries and a large terrace with a commanding view of Lower Manhattan and the Hudson River. Staffed by six full-time professionals, Visual Arts Gallery offers select students the opportunity to exhibit and sell their work in the same environment as some of the country's leading artists--a number of whom have exhibited there as well.
Since the Visual Arts Gallery moved from 137 Wooster Street in Soho to its present location in 2004, it has exhibited works by renowned SVA alumni such as Renee Cox, Inka Essenhigh, Joseph Kosuth, Robert Lazzarini, Sol Lewitt, Vera Lutter, Elizabeth Peyton, Alexis Rockman, Collier Schorr, Lorna Simpson and Sara Sze, Works by Richard Avedon, Milton Glaser, Anish Kapoor, Stefan Sagmeister, Sebastiao Salgado have also been exhibited at the Visual Arts Gallery.
SVA students of every discipline derive great educational benefit from being able to study the work of celebrated artists, hear them speak at lectures, or even get the chance to meet them in person -- all right here at the College.
The Visual Arts Gallery is open Monday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and is closed Sunday and federal holidays*. The gallery is accessible by wheelchair. For more information, or to purchase student's work (the gallery takes no commission), please call 212.592.2145.
*Summer Hours: The gallery will be closed for the
Independence Day holiday weekend from Friday, July 2, 1pm through
Monday, July 5. June 4th
through August 20th, 2010, the gallery will be closing one hour earlier
on Fridays (5pm instead of 6pm).
For press inquiries, please call the Office of Communication at 212.592.2010 or email proffice@sva.edu
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