Exhibition

School of Visual Arts presents “Tales from the Crit,” an exhibition of work by 10 figurative painters from the BFA Illustration class of 2017. Curated by department chair Thomas Woodruff, “Tales from the Crit” is on view Saturday, August 5, through Saturday, September 9, at the SVA Gramercy Gallery, 209 East 23rd Street, New York City.

Far from focusing only on editorial illustration, BFA Illustration fosters creative variety, educating young artists with real skills and conceptual problem solving acumen for myriad fields. Many graduates have gone on to have illustrious (no pun intended) gallery careers, and we are certain that this talented young bunch, with their exquisite sensibilities, will ascend the steep inclines of the art world hierarchy.

This is the first summer that some graduates of the program have been granted a studio “residency” and most of the works displayed here are newly minted in the past few months. As always, there is no definitive “look” to the exhibition’s display. Diversity is paramount, and the common thread is a celebration of craft in the service of content. Mood, atmosphere, humor, identity, sexuality, beauty, fantasy and perversity are all explored by these 10 graduates. Remember their names, because you will see their work again.

The artists are Tyler Bantz, Harlan Ballogg, Xingjian Ding, Sanna Gu, Paulson Lee, Kevin Hsieh, Mark Hua, Keiko Nabila, Sarah Vaccariello and Nadya Voynovskaya.