Exhibition

School of Visual Arts presents “Poisoned Apples and Smoking Lamps: Interpreting Fairy Tales and Adventure Stories,” an exhibition of work by third-year BFA Cartooning and BFA Illustration students that visually reinterprets classic adventure stories and fairy tales. Curated by Thomas Woodruff, chair of BFA Cartooning and BFA Illustration, “Poisoned Apples and Smoking Lamps” is on view Saturday, April 9, through Saturday, April 23, at the SVA Chelsea Gallery, 601 West 26th Street, 15th floor, New York City.

Fairy tales and adventure stories are a touchstone of childhood and often the first stories children learn to read. But these stories are more than simple bedtime reading. Using classic tales such as “Bluebeard,” “Little Red-Riding Hood” and “The Snow Queen” as inspiration, students visually reinterpreted these stories to uncover deeper, more nuanced meanings and a more complex understanding of their morals. Selected projects include Gurgen Aloian’s contemporary update of “Robin Hood,” with Vermont Senator and Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders playing the hero; Jonathan Logan’s beatnik-centric “Snow White,” set in 1960s Greenwich Village; and Tiffany Ng’s feminist deconstruction of popular fairy tales such as “Sleeping Beauty” and “Cinderella.”

Participating artists include Jonny Aleksey, Gurgen Aloian, Hong Gyun An, Harlan Ballogg, Tyler Bantz, Mohr Ben-Reuven, Ashanti Boatwright, Dale Brogan, Taylor Buckner, Joseph Canlas, Wu Chen, Theresa Chiechi, Celine Chow, Yang-Tzu Chung, Nicole Cipriani, Camden Coxson, Gerard Dalbon, Ashley Nicole De Leon, Christina Di Biase, Xingjian Ding, Yuchan Du, Mellasenah Nicole Edwards, Pharoah Evelyn, Megan Fabbri, Tanya Finder, Nadeen Gaber, Monica Garcia, John Pyatt Gaskill, Sanna Gu, Jocelyn Henry, Ellen Hersey, Kevin Hsieh, Yu Han Hung, Rok-I Jang, Kieran Judd, Linea Kataja, Jee Soo Kim, Jinyoung Kim, Minji Kwon, Ming Yi Lai, Taryn Latore, Ivy Lau, Francis Lawrence, Ji Yun Lee, Paul Lee, Robert Lee, Kathryn Leung, Siyu Li, Weijing Liao, Jonathan Logan, Nick Lyons, Gavin Mackie, Ella Mahoney, Kate McClements, Monica Mici, Keiko Nabila, Tiffany Ng, Zakiya Noel, David Padilla, BreAnne Pak, Fabrizio Migliorisi Ramazzini, Jack Reese, Spencer Reeves, Madeleine Sandrolini, Fernanda Sanovicz, Normandie Syken, Jiuran Tang, Stefania Aldana Trujillo, Christiana Tushaj, Chulsang Um, Sarah Vaccariello, Tamara Vagner, Erin Verderosa, Jessica Vissari, Nadya Voynovskaya, Madeleine White and Jon Wood.

With a commitment to excellence dating back to SVA’s founding in 1947, BFA Cartooning helps students develop a point of view and an individual voice as they master the rudiments of line, color and form in a wide range of media. Studies of art history and world cultures are paired with painting, drawing, storytelling and pictorial problem solving, culminating in the production of a portfolio of original work that presents each student's distinct sensibility. Comic books, graphic novels, children's books, editorial cartoons, theatrical posters, figurative art exhibitions, film and television credits and production designs—all are powerful vehicles for artists' inner worlds and meaningful contributions to a public forum. At SVA, cartooning students are prepared to lead the way.

BFA Illustration cultivates expert individual voices that are sustained by a high degree of craft, with a curriculum designed to spark the imagination as well as teach the art of interpretation: the ability to carefully read and cross-reference texts, research visual styles and conceptualize and produce significant bodies of work. As they progress through the program, assignments become increasingly professional in nature and reflect the diversity of the illustration marketplace, from media, entertainment and publishing to fashion and toy design, among other fields. Students develop sophisticated, multifaceted portfolios and participate in industry-sponsored competitions, which provide valuable exposure and networking opportunities.