The artist and illustrator began teaching at SVA in the 1960s before founding the MFA Illustration as Visual Essay program.
Many esteemed educators have passed through the halls of the School of Visual Arts. Still, the impact of the late Marshall Arisman, the prolific artist and founder of the College’s MFA Illustration as Visual Essay program, who taught at SVA for almost 60 years, will always be indelible. Following his passing in 2022, SVA honored Arisman with a set of Subway Series posters based on some of his previously unseen sketches. This year, the College celebrates his artistic legacy with “Does That Make Sense?”, an exhibition featuring some of Arisman’s lesser-known work and named after one of his favorite idioms.
Designed and curated by Arisman’s recently appointed successor and 1996 program alumnus Riccardo Vecchio, in collaboration with SVA Galleries and Arisman’s wife, writer Dee Ito, “Does That Make Sense?” will be on view Thursday, January 25, through Saturday, March 9, at the SVA Gramercy Gallery, 209 East 23rd Street.
Though Arisman was best known for his frequently dark, evocative works for major publications, including The New York Times, Playboy and Time, as well as recognizable book covers and pieces in the permanent collections of institutions like the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Brooklyn Museum and the Smithsonian American Art Museum, “Does That Make Sense?” explores his more personal work. Throughout his long career, Arisman produced countless sketches and paintings, many never before seen by the public. In some ways, the works on display offer a more intimate look at the inner workings of his imagination, without attachment to particular assignments or commissions.
Chosen by Vecchio and Ito from Arisman’s enormous personal archive, the works on view include a variety of drawings and prints of monkeys, one of the artist’s favorite subjects, including from his illustrated novel, The Divine Elvis, and other books; a triptych from a series focused on the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in World War II; humorous and culturally skewering comic-style pieces; and an array of unfinished projects. As a whole, they reflect an artist engrossed in his process. A mix of paintings, illustrations, writings and sketches in Arisman’s signature inky hues and scratchy fine lines convey his limitless curiosity and undying passion for his craft.
Of “Does That Make Sense?”, Vecchio notes, “As artists, we are grateful for the recognition and fame that come with cohesive, iconic and recognizable styles, yet at the same time, the work that gives us fame can also hinder the many, often divergent, facets and curiosities we are eager to explore. In my journey through his archives, it was evident to me that Marshall never stopped questioning, searching [and] experimenting. Aside from the groundbreaking and well-documented works that brought him fame and defined an era, many of the folders were filled with work that defied chronology and dates; as Marshall passionately painted over works, re-titling, changing dates, or tearing them apart to create completely new pieces. This show will, I hope, reveal Marshall as the eternally curious, indefatigable artist that he was.”
Arisman began teaching at SVA in 1964 and founded the MFA Illustration as Visual Essay program in 1984, of which he remained chair until his passing in April 2022. In 2003, he was the recipient of the SVA SVA Masters Series Award and Exhibition, and in 2017, SVA presented “Marshall Arisman: An Artist’s Journey From Dark to Light, 1972 – 2017,” a multimedia career retrospective, which also included several of the artist’s SVA posters. (To watch a video interview with Arisman and Ito about their work on the College’s subway poster series, click here). In February of 2023, an honorary poster featuring Arisman’s art, with a tagline by Ito, was featured in subway stations across the city. Arisman is also the subject of filmmaker and BFA Design faculty member Nada Ray’s documentary Unlocking the Creative Self with Marshall Arisman, which offered a master-class-style look at his artistic practice and philosophy.
Limited works in “Does That Make Sense?” will be available for sale, with 50% of proceeds to be donated by Dee Ito to the Marshall Arisman Scholarship Fund, to benefit students in the MFA Illustration as Visual Essay program. The SVA Gramercy Gallery is open Monday through Saturday, from 10:00am to 6:00pm, and closed on Sundays. It is fully accessible by wheelchair.
