Calendar

Exhibition

Presented by SVA Galleries

Underground Images: A History

August 29 - October 14, 2023
Digital drawing of an aerial view of a city with buildings in the shape of the words "ART IS!"

2021: Art Is!, Hyesu Lee (designer), Anthony P. Rhodes (executive creative director), Gail Anderson (creative director), Brian E. Smith (art director)

SVA Chelsea Gallery

601 West 26th Street, 15th floor, New York, NY 10001
Front desk of art gallery with a poster exhibition on the far left.

“Underground Images: A History,” SVA Chelsea Gallery, August 29 - October 14, 2023

Graphic poster exhibition hung on gallery walls.

“Underground Images: A History,” SVA Chelsea Gallery, August 29 - October 14, 2023

Wall of artist and designer names in the center of an art gallery displaying posters.

“Underground Images: A History,” SVA Chelsea Gallery, August 29 - October 14, 2023

Timeline wall listing historic milestones with corresponding posters and historical photos.

“Underground Images: A History,” SVA Chelsea Gallery, August 29 - October 14, 2023

Graphic poster exhibition hung on gallery walls with a wall on the right presenting an oversized photograph looking down a subway station's stairs.

“Underground Images: A History,” SVA Chelsea Gallery, August 29 - October 14, 2023

View from hallway of graphic poster exhibition hung across three gallery rooms.

“Underground Images: A History,” SVA Chelsea Gallery, August 29 - October 14, 2023

Row of subway posters installed on a faux tile background inside an art gallery.

“Underground Images: A History,” SVA Chelsea Gallery, August 29 - October 14, 2023

Row of subway posters installed on a faux tile background inside an art gallery with a large video projection in the back of the room.

“Underground Images: A History,” SVA Chelsea Gallery, August 29 - October 14, 2023

Multiple gallery walls covered with subway posters in varying scale.

“Underground Images: A History,” SVA Chelsea Gallery, August 29 - October 14, 2023

Row of subway posters on gallery wall, bisected by a large wall-mounted Rube Goldberg-like kinetic machine.

“Underground Images: A History,” SVA Chelsea Gallery, August 29 - October 14, 2023

Posters of varying scale on a gallery wall, with an adjacent wall on the right presenting artwork on three monitors hung in a vertical line.

“Underground Images: A History,” SVA Chelsea Gallery, August 29 - October 14, 2023

Posters of varying sizes intermixed with pull quotes in vinyl lettering across three walls.

“Underground Images: A History,” SVA Chelsea Gallery, August 29 - October 14, 2023

On the left, three vertically oriented screens display posters against a faux subway tile backdrop. On the right, five posters in different sizes hang together end-to-end.

“Underground Images: A History,” SVA Chelsea Gallery, August 29 - October 14, 2023

Posters of varying sizes intermixed with pull quotes in vinyl lettering across two walls.

“Underground Images: A History,” SVA Chelsea Gallery, August 29 - October 14, 2023

Graphic poster exhibition hung on gallery walls with a large vitrine in the bottom left.

“Underground Images: A History,” SVA Chelsea Gallery, August 29 - October 14, 2023

Posters of varying sizes hang across two walls in a gallery space along with pull quotes and a video screen.

“Underground Images: A History,” SVA Chelsea Gallery, August 29 - October 14, 2023

SVA Galleries presents an exhibition of more than 200 posters from its iconic Subway Poster Collection, which have covered the walls of NYC transit stations over the past 75 years. In addition to the posters, this time capsule tribute to the College's history includes historical sketches, paintings, photographs, videos, and even a recreated NYC subway platform. Works by 93 celebrated graphic artists, including Milton Glaser, Paula Scher, Marshall Arisman, Paul Davis, and Gail Anderson, present a range of styles and mediums that tell the story of SVA from its inception as Cartoonist & Illustrators School in 1947 through today.


The SVA Chelsea Gallery is open Monday through Saturday, 10:00am–6:00pm. Masks are encouraged but not required.

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Credits wall inside of an art gallery showing a list of creative and art directors, copywriters, and artists that have contributed to SVA's Subway Posters Collection.