Check out SVA at Miami Art Week

Miami Art Week kicks off this week, and six alumni from the class of 2023 are exhibiting work at Untitled Art Miami Beach! Simon Cooper (MFA Fine Arts), C. Fodoreanu (MFA Art Practice), Tyler Frigge (BFA Photography and Video), Davina Hsu (MFA Fine Arts), Kiara Ocasio (BFA Visual & Critical Studies) and Tianshu Zhang (MFA Fine Arts) bring an eclectic mix of mediums including painting, sculpture, textiles and photography to Booth C66, curated by SVA External Relations project manager Dan Halm (MFA 2001 Illustration as Visual Essay; BFA 1994 Illustration). On view Tuesday, December 5, through Sunday, December 10. Learn more about the SVA alumni presence in Miami here.

Will you be at Miami Art Week? Complete this form to let us know where we can find you and/or your work at the fairs. 

Image: C. Fodoreanu, dive #2, 2023, pigment on rag.

Recent Alumni Events

New York City

Last month, we hosted an event for alumni at The Smith Nomad. Nearly 100 alumni attendees enjoyed refreshments and the company of friends old and new. It was a great success! See photos from the occasion here.

Photo credit: MJ O’Toole (MPS 2020 Digital Photography)

Seoul

The Korean Alumni Association had their annual reception at Arts9 & Eatt9 in Seoul last month. It was another successful event featuring a presentation and SVA swag giveaways. Photos from the event are here.

Photo credit: Moonsik Kim, Sangwon Kim and Joongho Choi

Beijing

In October, the Chinese Alumni Association participated in “Project A” at the Tree Art Museum in Beijing with alumni from Parsons, Pratt, MICA and other art schools. The event aimed to foster connections and opportunities among Chinese alumni of the institutions. Learn more and see photos here.

New Alumni Benefit! Discounts on Memberships at NYC’s Metrograph Theater

SVA alumni can access 40% off annual or dual memberships at Metrograph, an independent movie theater in New York’s Lower East Side. Metrograph members enjoy preferred ticket pricing, exclusive films and premieres, conversations with filmmakers and new curated collections available to stream anywhere in the U.S. on Metrograph at Home. Read more about membership perks here. To access the discount at checkout, click the blue “Have a coupon? Click here” button and enter the code “sva40.”

In Remembrance: George Tscherny (1924 – 2023)

George Tscherny—SVA’s first design instructor, creator of the College’s logo and icon of mid-20th century American graphic design—died last month at the age of 99. Read about Tscherny and his legacy at SVA here.

Image: George Tscherny, 1960. Credit: SVA Archives.

Meet 2023 SVA Alumni Scholarship Award Winners Ollie Yao and Heather Yun

In this Q&A, BFA Computer Art, Computer Animation and Visual Effects alumni Ollie Yao and Heather Yun are interviewed about their 2023 Alumni Scholarship Award-winning 3D-animated film, Twin Sparks—which is now a semi-finalist in the Student Academy Awards!

Please consider donating to the Alumni Scholarship Fund today to help support projects like Yao and Yun’s. With your help, we can continue to make the excellence of the next generation of artists and designers possible.

Photo of Ollie Yao and Heather Yun by Nir Arieli (BFA 2012 Photography)

December Events and Exhibitions

This month’s calendar includes a long-awaited BFA Interior Design: Built Environments show, the annual MFA Illustration as Visual Essay “Book Show” and a chance to see what students have been working on at open-studio events. Learn more here.

SVA Faculty Reflect on the Legacy of Richard Wilde

As Richard Wilde’s exhibition “Wilde Mind” continues at the SVA Chelsea Gallery until Saturday, December 9, members of the SVA community celebrate the educator and artist’s impact on the College here.

Alumni in the Press

What It Takes for Snoopy and Friends to Soar in the Macy’s Parade
Emma Milligan (MFA 2018 Photography, Video and Related Media; BFA 2015 Photography) photographed the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade preparations for The New York Times.

109 Carefully Selected, Unusually Special Gifts Under $50
Hugo Yu (BFA 2019 Photography and Video) photographed gift ideas for New York’s holiday gift guide.

“We Want to Grow Because We Love Ourselves”
Hear from MFA Illustration as Visual Essay alumnus and faculty member Hyesu Lee (2011) on her new book, Self-Love Club: Real Talk and Reminders for Discovering that We’re Enough, out now from Chronicle Books.

Why Are Millennials Still Attached to American Girl?
Sunny Wu (BFA 2022 Illustration) illustrated an article from The New Yorker detailing the staying-power of the American Girl Doll brand.

Capturing the Legacy of Singer-Songwriter Billy Joel
Long Island NY1 interviews 3D Design Chair Kevin O’Callaghan (BFA 1980 Media Arts) about “Billy Joel: My Life, A Piano Man’s Journey,” an exhibition he designed that is now on view at the Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame in Stony Brook, New York.

Rafa Alvarez for Variety
Rafa Alvarez (MFA 2012 Illustration as Visual Essay) illustrated a recent cover story for Variety, which takes a look at how a recent wave of criticism and superhero fatigue is affecting the Marvel movie franchise.

Steven Universe Turns 10
Steven Universe creator Rebecca Sugar (BFA 2009 Animation) talked about unseen characters, what ended up on the cutting room floor and the possibility of a series revival in an interview for Variety on the occasion of the show’s 10th anniversary.

Healing and Honoring Those Who Traverse Borders
Guadalupe Maravilla’s (BFA 2003 Photography) traveling installation and vibrational healing instrument, Mariposa Relámpago, made its way to Ballroom Marfa, San Antonio, where Maravilla will use the piece to conduct healing sessions for undocumented immigrants and cancer survivors. Via OA Online.

Contemplating American Girlhood in the High-School Gymnasium
Dylan Rose Rheingold (MFA 2022 Fine Arts) talked with Artnet News on the occasion of her debut solo exhibition in Los Angeles, “Best in Show,” which was on view at M+B last month.

“It Takes a Pack to Make a Film”
BFA Film alumni Andrew Garcia (2018) and Carmelo Varela (2016), founders of the filmmaking collective LOBOS, talk to Little Black Book about teamwork and representation.

Gail Anderson on Print Is Dead (Long Live Print!)
BFA Advertising and BFA Design Chair Gail Anderson (BFA 1984 Media Arts) talks about the limitless potential of design in an interview for Print Is Dead (Long Live Print!).

Keepers of the Way Premiere
Evan M. Cohen’s (BFA 2012 Film and Video) Keepers of the Way, an intimate portrait of Pennsylvania’s Lenape Nation and its journey to heal past wounds, premiered this past weekend with two showings at the County Theatre in Doylestown. Via Patch.

Children’s Creators Travel for Conservation
Brian Floca (MFA 2001 Illustration as Visual Essay) spent two weeks with fellow members of the environmental group Children’s Book Creators for Conservation in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, as a wildlife conservation volunteer, returning with stories and sketches inspired by his hands-on experience. Via Publishers Weekly.

A Grad and a Student on “Becoming”
Jeremy Cohen (BFA 2014 Photography) and BFA Photography and Video student John Yuhas talk about their approaches to photography and the affinities between their work, which were on view at SVA Gramercy Gallery, “Becoming,” a selection of work by eight current students and eight alumni of the program.

“Full Frame: On Richmond’s Trail of the Enslaved”
The New York Times profiles Dawoud Bey (1977 Photography) as he shifts his focus from portraiture to landscapes, capturing haunting studies of places charged with Black American history, in his latest exhibition, “Dawoud Bey: Elegy.”

“I See Painting as a Tender Creation in an Otherwise Artificial World”
Xianglong Li (MFA 2021 Fine Arts) talks to Voyage LA about how he confronts the absurdity of reality with his street culture-inspired paintings.

Shawn Martinbrough’s Latest a Best-of 2023 Book
Like Lava in My Veins, illustrated by Shawn Martinbrough (BFA 1993 Illustration) made both NPR’s and Kirkus’ “best of 2023” lists.

Collier Schorr for Harper’s Bazaar
Collier Schorr (BFA 1985 Communication Arts) photographed singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey for the cover of Harper’s Bazaar.

Images, from top: Photo by Emma Milligan via The New York Times; Illustration by Sunny Wu for The New Yorker. 

Notes and Exhibitions

Tim Okamura (MFA 1993 Illustration as Visual Essay) has work in the group exhibition “Onna-Bugeisha: Warriors of Light,” August Wilson African American Cultural Center, Pittsburgh, 11/6/23-2/18/24.

Daina Higgins (BFA 2001 Fine Arts) has work in the group exhibition “South Brooklyn Salon,” Thomas VanDyke Gallery, NYC 12/2-12/24/23.

Cordy Ryman (BFA 1997 Fine Arts) has a solo exhibition, "Monkey Mind Symphony," Freight + Volume, NYC, 11/17-12/22/23.

Nancy Scherl (MFA 2000 Photography and Related Media) has a solo exhibition, "Dining Alone in the Company of Solitude," Katonah Library, Katonah, NY, 11/9-12/16/23.

AnnaLiisa Ariosa-Benston (MFA 2016 Fine Arts) founded ōpl and organized a group exhibition “Bodies, Bodies, Bodies,” a 24-hour art fair powered by wind and solar energy, NYC, 12/2-12/3/23.

Andrew Thornton (BFA 2007 Fine Arts) had work in the group exhibition, “Amplify: An Allegheny Metals Collective Exhibition,” as part of NYC Jewelry Week, Steuben Gallery at Pratt Institute, NYC, 11/13-11/19/23.

Anne Peabody (MFA 2004 Fine Arts) has a permanent installation, "ACRE," Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest, Clermont, KY, 11/15/23.

Mischelle Moy (BFA 2016 Photography and Video) and Zuheng Yin (BFA 2019 Design) were winners and Dylan Edwards (BFA 2016 Film), Matvey Fiks (BFA 2016 Film), Aarman Roy (BFA 2022 Design) and Hannah Sun (MFA 2021 Computer Arts) were finalists, The Young Guns 21, The One Club for Creativity, 11/1/23. Moy also received the Young Guns 21 Creative Choice Award.

Lisa LaBracio (BFA 2006 Animation) directed Season 2 of MetKids Microscope, a show about the science behind the art at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC, 6/21-10/20/23.

Dane LaChiusa (BFA 1983 Media Arts) had work in the group exhibition “T.M.I. is beautiful,” Ricoh USA, Atlanta, 10/18-10/20/23.

Allison Belolan (MAT 2009 Art Education) won the Award for Excellence in Art, Bruce Museum Fine Arts Festival 2023, Greenwich, CT, 10/7-10/8/23.

Image: Andrew Thornton's brooch, All Eyes On Me, which was on view at “Amplify: An Allegheny Metals Collective Exhibition” at NYC Jewelry Week.

#SVAwesome

Linjie Deng (MFA 2017 Design for Social Innovation), Homeward Bound: 23rd Street Station Chronicles. 

From the artist: “Navigating the labyrinthine subway routes during his first year in the city that never sleeps, Deng found the 23rd Street station to be a guiding light, leading him back to his dormitory. As seasons changed, his connection to this subway sanctuary deepened. For him, the station was not just a point on the map; it was a beacon signaling the way home, a sanctuary in the midst of urban chaos.”