School of Visual Arts presents “The Book Show,” an exhibition of work by members of the MFA Illustration as Visual Essay class of 2017. Curated by department chair Marshall Arisman and faculty member Carl Nicholas Titolo, “The Book Show” is on view Friday, September 16, through Thursday, September 29, at the SVA Gramercy Gallery, 209 East 23rd Street, New York City.

An annual exhibition presented by MFA Illustration as Visual Essay, “The Book Show” challenges students to conceive, write and illustrate a book—whether a children’s book, graphic or illustrated novel, or visual essay—based on a personal experience or subject matter that is meaningful to them.

Celestial Spheres by Brian Britigan explores the solar system through science and mythology, including the role of the sun, moon and planets in the popular imagination.

Erica Chan’s At the Circus is an immersive visual tour of the many performance styles at the circus.

The Obsessive Compulsions by Shreya Gupta depicts the anxiety caused by several forms of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), in which a person has uncontrollable and reoccurring thoughts (obsessions) and behaviors (compulsions) that he or she feels the urge to repeat over and over.

The Park by Mago Huang is a comic about a young wolf at an amusement park who dresses as a sheep to win over his bullies.

Genevieve Irwin’s My Father, Narayan, a collaboration between the author and her mother, tells the story of a man born in rural India in the late 19th century.

Jin Xiaojing’s I Miss My Grandpa is a children’s book about the author’s search to know more about his grandfather, who died at the age of 34.

Zeitgeist by David Leutert is a collection of illustrated poems inspired by German loanwords, from Autobahn to Zeitgeist.

Gloria’s Voice by Aura Lewis is a picture book based on the life and work of feminist activist and spokesperson Gloria Steinem.

Helen Li’s SuperGran & WonderGramps is a picture book about a pair of superhero grandparents on a mission to throw the best family party ever.

Parallel by Amber Ma is a collection of three illustrated short stories that are inspired by a hot spring, reflections in water and the New York City subway.

Wenkai Mao’s Night Vision is a book of images in the form of a diary that depicts a surreal and mysterious nocturnal world.

Eugenia Mello’s The Chorus explores movement, color and the interactions between four dancers who discover that there is more than one way to dance together.

Fairyland by ShinYeon Moon is a digitally colored picture book based on the Edgar Allan Poe poem of the same name.

No Finish Lines by Ryan Raphael is an interactive book featuring six characters racing the reader to the finish line, the book’s final page.

Nicole Rifkin’s series of illustrations deal with death without depicting typical tropes such as tombstones, skulls or funerals. Instead, the series focuses on the emotional fallout of death and loss.

Resurrection by Francisco Rodriguez chronicles the adventures, nocturnal errands, friends, foes and threats facing a mythological and blessed jaguar.

Ignacio Serrano’s Imaginary Landscapes depicts a sequence of five different imaginary landscapes as seen from a boat traveling along a river.

Oppawsites by Meghan Templehof is the story of two very different dogs and their friendship, based on the author’s pets Miles and Finley.

MFA Illustration as Visual Essay at SVA is designed to maximize students’ opportunities as figurative artists, from the gallery wall to the full range of digital, print and online media. The program fuses the development of creative thinking with technical and communication skills. Additional focus is placed on best practices in navigating the visual-art marketplace while empowering students to choose art-making as a way of life.

Exhibition

The Book Show

SVA Gramercy Gallery

Reception