Calendar

Exhibition

Presented by BFA Comics and BFA Illustration

BFA Comics + BFA Illustration: Senior Show

April 2 - 12, 2025
A brown and white dog lies happily on his back in a small field of highly stylized flowers. The dog is surrounded by their favorite things, including a dragonfly, empty food cans, plastic toys, and discarded socks.

SVA Chelsea Gallery

601 West 26th Street, 15th floor, New York, NY 10001

Reception

Thu, Apr 10; 6:00 - 8:00pm

aThe front desk of the gallery sits to the right. On the wall behind the desk, the wall text reads “seniorshow, bfa comics, bfa illustration, 2025”. To the left, several groups of prints are shown, with personalized books displayed under the prints on floating shelves. Four chairs are shown resting alongside a pillar in the main gallery space.

“BFA Comics + BFA Illustration: Senior Show,” SVA Chelsea Gallery, April 2 – 12, 2025

The first gallery space is shown. Three walls are shown, and display several groups of prints all throughout. Each group of prints has a personalized book under the prints on floating shelves. A pedestal sits near the back of the gallery space to the left, with a sculpture of three figures on top the hood of a car. Another pedestal sits near the front on the right, with a sculpture of three pizza boxes, stacked on top of eachother. Two large pillars rest in the middle of the gallery space.

“BFA Comics + BFA Illustration: Senior Show,” SVA Chelsea Gallery, April 2 – 12, 2025

In the first gallery space, four groups of horizontal and vertical prints are shown. The first three groups of prints have personalized books displayed under the prints on floating shelves.

“BFA Comics + BFA Illustration: Senior Show,” SVA Chelsea Gallery, April 2 – 12, 2025

In the first gallery space, a wall is shown displaying seven groups of prints, with the last group of prints to the right cut off by a pillar. The first, third, fourth, sixth, and seventh group of prints all have personalized books displayed under the prints on floating shelves. The sixth group of prints has a pedestal with a sculpture of three figures on top of the hood of a car.

“BFA Comics + BFA Illustration: Senior Show,” SVA Chelsea Gallery, April 2 – 12, 2025

In the corner of the first gallery space, four groups of vertical and horizontal prints are displayed. Each group of prints has a personalized book displayed under the prints on floating shelves. On the left wall, the first set of prints has a pedestal with a sculpture of three figures on top of the hood of a car. The second group of prints has several scrolls holding up the personalized book.

“BFA Comics + BFA Illustration: Senior Show,” SVA Chelsea Gallery, April 2 – 12, 2025

In the first gallery space, six groups of horizontal and vertical prints are displayed, with the first group of prints cut off by a pillar. The rest of the prints are all accompanied with a personalized book, displayed on separate floating shelves under the prints.

“BFA Comics + BFA Illustration: Senior Show,” SVA Chelsea Gallery, April 2 – 12, 2025

In the first gallery space, six groups of prints are displayed, with each group having a personalized book displayed under the prints on floating shelves. The first group of prints on the left hand side is made out of carved wood. The fifth group is accompanied with a sculpture of three pizza boxes on a pedestal. The rest of the prints are all on paper.

“BFA Comics + BFA Illustration: Senior Show,” SVA Chelsea Gallery, April 2 – 12, 2025

In the first gallery space, five groups of horizontal and vertical prints are shown. From left to right, the first, third, and fifth group of prints all have books displayed under the prints on floating shelves. The second group of prints is accompanied with a monitor displaying an animation.

“BFA Comics + BFA Illustration: Senior Show,” SVA Chelsea Gallery, April 2 – 12, 2025

In the first room of the gallery, a hallway is shown, with many walls displaying several horizontal and vertical prints to the left and right. On the left, there are 7 prints; the top three are vertical, and the bottom four are horizontal. A book is displayed on a floating shelf under these prints. To the left and down the hallway, several groups of prints are displayed, some accompanied with a book displayed under the prints. The furthest wall to the back displays several books on two long floating shelves.

“BFA Comics + BFA Illustration: Senior Show,” SVA Chelsea Gallery, April 2 – 12, 2025

In the second gallery space, two walls are shown. On the left, a wall displays three groups of several prints. The first group of prints has a personalized book displayed on a floating shelf under the prints, and a sculpture on a pedestal. On the right, seven groups of prints are displayed, with the last three nearest to the right having a personalized book displayed under the prints on separate floating shelves.

“BFA Comics + BFA Illustration: Senior Show,” SVA Chelsea Gallery, April 2 – 12, 2025

In the second gallery space, three walls are shown. On the left wall, two groups of prints are shown. One of the grouped prints on the left wall are accompanied with a book displayed on a floating shelf, under the prints. On the wall in the center shown, four groups of several horizontal and vertical prints are displayed on the wall. The first and second group of prints have a personalized book displayed on a floating shelf under the prints. The second group of prints also has a pedestal under the prints that has a sculpture displayed. On the wall to the right, a group of horizontal prints is shown.

“BFA Comics + BFA Illustration: Senior Show,” SVA Chelsea Gallery, April 2 – 12, 2025

In the second gallery space, two walls are shown. The wall furthest shown displays several horizontal and vertical printed works, some accompanied with a book displayed on a floating shelf under the prints. To the right, a wall displays several horizontal and vertical prints. All the prints range in size and some grouped prints have a personalized book displayed under the prints on floating shelves.

“BFA Comics + BFA Illustration: Senior Show,” SVA Chelsea Gallery, April 2 – 12, 2025

In the second gallery space, three walls are shown. Each wall consists of several horizontal and vertical prints. Some of these prints are accompanied with a personalized book displayed on floating shelves under the prints. On the center wall to the left, there are 6 paintings displayed.

“BFA Comics + BFA Illustration: Senior Show,” SVA Chelsea Gallery, April 2 – 12, 2025

On a wall, several prints and paintings are displayed, some accompanied with books displayed on floating shelves. From left to right, there are 8 horizontal prints with no book, 6 horizontal prints with a book displayed under the prints, 6 paintings with a book displayed under the paintings, 10 horizontal prints with no book, 6 vertical prints with a book displayed under the prints, and towards the edge of the image, 5 horizontal and vertical prints are displayed with no book.

“BFA Comics + BFA Illustration: Senior Show,” SVA Chelsea Gallery, April 2 – 12, 2025

In the first half of the last room of the gallery, four walls are shown. In the room on the left, there are two walls that display several vertical and horizontal prints, some accompanied with personalized books. In the middle of all these prints, a monitor displays an animation. Around the corner, another wall displays several horizontal and vertical prints, some accompanied with a book displayed under the prints. Also shown under these prints are two pedestals on either side of the wall. One pedestal holds a book, and the other holds a dog figurine inside a box. In the wall furthest to the back on the right, two long floating shelves display several books, some accompanied with business cards.

“BFA Comics + BFA Illustration: Senior Show,” SVA Chelsea Gallery, April 2 – 12, 2025

In the first half of the last room of the gallery, several horizontal and vertical prints are displayed on the walls, most accompanied with personalized books displayed on floating shelves under the prints. A monitor is shown with an animation to the right.

“BFA Comics + BFA Illustration: Senior Show,” SVA Chelsea Gallery, April 2 – 12, 2025

In the first half of the last room of the gallery, there are three walls shown. On the right wall, four prints are displayed. To the right of the prints, a screen displays an animation. On the center wall to the left of the right wall, two groups of prints are displayed with personalized books displayed under the prints on floating shelves. The furthest wall around the corner and behind the main two walls shown displays several horizontal and vertical prints, with books displayed under the two groups of prints.

“BFA Comics + BFA Illustration: Senior Show,” SVA Chelsea Gallery, April 2 – 12, 2025

In the first half of the last room of the gallery, there are three walls shown. On the left wall, there are several horizontal and vertical prints displayed, all accompanied with a personalized book and zine. In the corner of the space, a pedestal displays a box with an herbal tea kit. The center wall after the corner displays several vertical and horizontal prints, both groups of prints accompanied with personalized books. The furthest wall behind the first two walls mentioned display horizontal prints, each accompanied with personalized books.

“BFA Comics + BFA Illustration: Senior Show,” SVA Chelsea Gallery, April 2 – 12, 2025

In the first half of the last room of the gallery, several horizontal and vertical prints are shown on the wall. Some of these grouped prints are accompanied with a personalized book. In the center of the wall, a pedestal displays two crocheted figures; a little girl and a black cat.

“BFA Comics + BFA Illustration: Senior Show,” SVA Chelsea Gallery, April 2 – 12, 2025

In the first half of the last room of the gallery, there are two walls photographed. On the furthest wall to the left, 8 horizontal prints are displayed, and more prints are displayed, but are cut off by the main wall photographed. The main wall to the right displays several horizontal and vertical prints, some accompanied with a book. In the center of the wall, there are two crocheted figures; one is a black cat and the other is of a little girl.

“BFA Comics + BFA Illustration: Senior Show,” SVA Chelsea Gallery, April 2 – 12, 2025

Down the hallway of the last space in the gallery, several printed works are displayed on the wall. On the left wall, several horizontal and vertical prints are displayed on the wall, most accompanied with a book displayed under the prints on floating shelves and/or a pedestal. The last group of prints has a dog figurine in a box displayed on a pedestal below the prints. The wall furthest shown displays several books on two long floating shelves, some accompanied with business cards. On the wall to the right, several books are displayed on two long floating shelves, some accompanied with business cards. To the edge of the image shown, four horizontal prints are displayed with a personalized book displayed under the prints on a floating shelf.

“BFA Comics + BFA Illustration: Senior Show,” SVA Chelsea Gallery, April 2 – 12, 2025

In the last room of the gallery, two walls are shown, with two long shelves displaying several books. The furthest wall to the left displays 13 books, some accompanied with business cards. The wall to the right displays 44 books, some accompanied with business cards and/or stickers.

“BFA Comics + BFA Illustration: Senior Show,” SVA Chelsea Gallery, April 2 – 12, 2025

In the last room of the gallery, four walls are displayed. On all these walls, several books are displayed on two long floating shelves, and some books are accompanied with business cards.

“BFA Comics + BFA Illustration: Senior Show,” SVA Chelsea Gallery, April 2 – 12, 2025

In the last room of the gallery, three walls are photographed. Each wall consists of two long shelves, with each shelf displaying books and business cards.

“BFA Comics + BFA Illustration: Senior Show,” SVA Chelsea Gallery, April 2 – 12, 2025

In the last room of the gallery, there are three walls that have several books displayed on two long shelves. On the left wall, five books are displayed. On the center wall, the top shelf holds several artists' business cards, and the bottom shelf holds books and business cards. The right wall displays 6 books.

“BFA Comics + BFA Illustration: Senior Show,” SVA Chelsea Gallery, April 2 – 12, 2025

Three walls, spaced out with a hallway in the middle are shown. Each wall displays various books on two long shelves. The wall to the left displays 8 books. The center wall displays 17 books. The wall to the right displays 11 books.

“BFA Comics + BFA Illustration: Senior Show,” SVA Chelsea Gallery, April 2 – 12, 2025

Three walls are shown, with a corridor down the middle. On the left wall, four different artists' works are displayed, all consisting of prints similar in size. Three of the works are accompanied with a book on a shelf. The first three works consist of 6 prints each, while the last work consists of 8 prints.

“BFA Comics + BFA Illustration: Senior Show,” SVA Chelsea Gallery, April 2 – 12, 2025

SVA will present “BFA Comics + BFA Illustration: Senior Show,” an exhibition of senior work by 252 BFA Illustration and BFA Comics graduating students, curated by Viktor Koen, chair of both departments; Lauren Panepinto, vice president & creative director of Orbit Books at Hachette; Rani Som, award-winning illustrator, comics artist and educator; and Amy Reeder, renowned comics artist and educator. The exhibition will be on view from Wednesday, April 2, through Saturday, April 12, 2025, at the SVA Chelsea Gallery, 601 West 26th Street, 15th floor, New York City.


“‘Senior Show’ presents a unique collection of works to the industry and ushers in a new tradition, not only for our graduates but also for the multitude of comics and illustration specialties they will join and deeply impact,” said BFA Illustration and BFA Comics Department Chair Viktor Koen. “These projects represent some of the most exciting achievements this generation has to offer – conceptualized, developed, and completed in a wide variety of pictorial and storytelling formats and media.”


Artistic paths after graduation are full of existential milestones and breakthroughs in concept, craft, and direction. Students in the BFA Illustration and BFA Comics programs at SVA focus on fundamentals, expert advice, peer group dynamics, and the development of a unique artistic voice, all of which contribute to an artist’s determination to realize their ideas by making pictures and telling stories that matter. After all, creative careers never make mathematical sense, but make dreams come true and give artists the ability to shape the visual culture. These dreams are realized by matching talent to opportunity, a crucial promise made to graduates and the industry alike, actively promoted by a plethora of initiatives and exhibitions like this one.


This year’s esteemed senior thesis faculty includes Josh Bayer (BFA 2007 Cartooning and MFA 2009 Illustration as Visual Essay), Nicholas Bertozzi (MFA 2019 Art Practice), Marcos Chin, Joshua Cochran, Jensine Eckwall (BFA 2013 Illustration), Lisk Feng, Viktor Koen (MFA 1992 Illustration as Visual Essay), Eliott Lilly (BFA 2004 Illustration and MFA 2006 Illustration as Visual Essay), Anthony Macbain, Lily Padula (BFA 2013 Illustration), David Roman (BFA 1999 Cartooning), Jonathon Rosen, Matthew Rota (MFA 2008 Illustration as Visual Essay), Kathryn Humphries, Doug Salati (MFA 2014 Illustration as Visual Essay), Sarah Vaccariello (BFA 2017 Illustration), Aviva Michaelov, and Sam Weber (MFA 2005 Illustration as Visual Essay).


The SVA Chelsea Gallery is open to the public Tuesday through Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and closed on Sundays and Mondays. It is fully accessible by wheelchair.

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Free and open to the public