Exhibition

SVA Galleries announce a revitalization of their annual slate of juried exhibitions with “Next Up,” a series of shows on view at three of the College’s gallery spaces. In this reimagining of SVA’s long-running tradition of showcasing emerging student talent chosen by a prestigious group of notable alumni, “Next Up” will comprise three simultaneous exhibitions, each representing a component of the series’ central theme of connection—between peoples, histories, ideologies—across a wide range of medium and practice. “Next Up” offers visitors the chance to journey the trail through the College’s galleries from the east to west side of Manhattan, making connections of their own between these diverse, multidisciplinary shows.

Through painting, photography, and printmaking, the six artists in “Next Up: Sun Chasers” retrace steps and identify recurring patterns that have led societies to their present-day state. A common thread among their aesthetically varied work is the pursuit of freedom, ranging from social expectations, embedded ideologies, groupthink, and alienation. These artworks use familiar visual vernacular while embedding alternate messages amidst their subjects. Pushing for an unlinking of time-honored yet destructive constraints, they assert that transformative progress happens through acknowledging and reckoning with the past. These artists grapple with forms of darkness—emotional wounds, tradition and power dynamics—in pursuit of the light within. As they reach toward the horizon, viewers may consider new trajectories between here and the future.

Juried exhibitions have been crucial to the fabric of SVA for more than 30 years as a way for SVA students to recognize the achievements of their most distinguished classmates. Artists are selected from a large pool of applicants to the annual SVA Galleries call for entries, whose submissions undergo a rigorous examination of presented materials, including documentation of work and artist statements. “Next Up” was inspired by the “playlist” experience with each exhibition meant to be seen as part of a greater whole. This campus- wide event will showcase the work of more than 30 students representing eleven departments, including BFA Design, BFA Fine Arts, BFA Illustration, BFA Photography and Video, BFA Visual & Critical Studies, MFA Computer Arts, MFA Fine Arts, MFA Illustration as Visual Essay, MFA Interaction Design, MFA Photography, Video & Related Media, and MFA Products of Design.

Exhibiting artists include Yining (Cindy) Cai, Amber Dacanay, Shaohan Fang, Elika Jiang, Jimmy Johnson, and Sofiia Sichkar.

Jurors are selected to represent the wide range of SVA's creative community. Each of them has become successful in the worlds of design, fine arts, illustration, and the moving image.