School of Visual Arts (SVA) presents “The Human Fly,” an exhibition of work by 20 students in the MFA Illustration as Visual Essay class of 2025 curated by faculty member Viktor Koen and inspired by T.C. Boyle’s novel of the same name. The exhibition will be on view from Thursday, May 2, through Saturday, May 18, at the SVA Chelsea Gallery, 601 West 26th Street, 15th floor, New York City.

Of the exhibition, curator Koen—also chair of BFA Comics and BFA Illustration at SVA—says, “These 20 unique project concepts follow polar opposite approaches to the narrative, spanning comics directly relevant to our hero with a twist, sensitive portraiture of famous sideshow characters, action scenes that radiate cinematic adrenaline, quiet stories of unsung family heroes, game cards that spell disaster, esoteric references to our social media obsession, bold colors and mixed messages conveying the urgency and longing for instantaneous fame, alternative insect stories of peculiarity and style, depictions of senseless instances of trauma, references to historical pioneering dare devils, children’s books with otherworldly journeys, and desperate and self-destructive overtures of trying to belong.”

Artists featured in this exhibition are Ceili Ayoung, Yiran Bian, Yilin Cai, Melody Chen, Caitlin Du, Jialu Du, Emma Fisher, Laura Sandoval Herrera, Mary Quinlan Murphy, Xiaohan Pei, Lydia Pinkhassik, Yuxuan Wang, Reena Wu, Anshan Xie, Wenqi (Alina) Xu, Yiru Xue, Xinyi Yang, Yilin Z, Yubo Zhang and Verum Zhou.

The SVA Chelsea Gallery is open to the public Tuesday through Saturday, from 10:00am to 6:00pm, Mondays from 10:00am to 5:00pm by appointment, and closed on Sundays. It is fully accessible by wheelchair.

Exhibition

The Human Fly

SVA Chelsea Gallery

Reception