November 4–December 17, 2014
Reception: Tuesday, November 11, 6–8pm
SVA Chelsea Gallery
601 West 26th Street, 15th floor
New York City
School of Visual Arts is proud to present We Tell Stories, a collection of work by more than 350 artists who have graduated with an MFA in Illustration as Visual Essay in the 30 years since the degree was introduced at the College. Curated by founding chair Marshall Arisman, the exhibition demonstrates the remarkable range of the program’s alumni, who have earned acclaim for their animations, children’s books, comics, editorial art, graphic novels, paintings, products and more.
Created in 1984 with the goals of erasing the distinction between “illustrators” and “artists” and empowering artists as authors, MFA Illustration as Visual Essay has proven enduringly influential in the worlds of visual art and communication. Its graduates have won top honors from such industry groups as the American Library Association, Art Directors Club and Society of Illustrators; seen their work appear in such periodicals as National Geographic, The New Yorker and The New York Times; and illustrated bestselling books for such publishers as HarperCollins, Scholastic and Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
We Tell Stories features work by such artists as George Boorujy, Viktor Deak, Brian Floca, Nathan Fox, John Hendrix, Oliver Kugler, Alison Moritsugu, Mu Pan, Brian Pinkney, Stephen Savage, Yuko Shimizu, Sam Weber and Martin Wittfooth. The exhibition also includes a children’s reading room, specially designed by alumni Aya Kakeda and Sara Varon and housing more than 200 books created by program graduates.
School of Visual Arts has been a leader in the education of artists, designers and creative professionals for more than six decades. With a faculty of distinguished working professionals, dynamic curriculum and an emphasis on critical thinking, SVA is a catalyst for innovation and social responsibility. Comprised of more than 6,000 students at its Manhattan campus and 35,000 alumni in 100 countries, SVA also represents one of the most influential artistic communities in the world. For information about the College’s 32 undergraduate and graduate degree programs, visit sva.edu.
