Judy Pfaff

School of Visual Arts (SVA) presents "The Influentials," an exhibition featuring distinguished female alumni of the College and the diverse group of artists who have influenced their practice. "The Influentials" is both an investigation into the creative lineage between contemporary artists and a dialogue between mentors and mentees that crosses generations, gender and media. The exhibition is co-curated by independent curator Amy Smith-Stewart adn SVA Director of Development and Alumni Affairs Carrie Lincourt. "The Influentials" brings together some of New York's most recognized female artists, from celebrated painters like Katherine Bernhardt and Inka Essenhigh to sought-after video and installation artists like Aida Ruilova and Pheobe Washburn. The exhibition's title refers not only to this group but also to a second group of individuals who have been a guiding force or touchstone in their work. Each of the 19 participating SVA alumni was asked to invite an artist or other person of influence to be part of the exhibition, and the invitees range from Washburn's grandmother, whose "waste note, want not" outlook can be seen in her granddaughter's frequent use of recycled materials to cult French filmmaker Jean Rollin, whose 1975 erotic vampire tale Lips of Blood illustrates Ruilova's obsession with horror movies. Ranging from photography to drawing to installation, the more than four dozen works in the exhibition include: critically acclaimed videos by Marilyn Minter (Green Pink Caviar, 2009) and Kate Gilmore (Between a Hard Place, 2008), who credits Minter for teaching her to "be bold, honest and to never, ever relax"; a new large-scale sculpture by Marianne Vitale (Double Decker Outhouse, 2011), who says seeing Hungarian flimmaker Bela Tarr's 7-hour epic Sátántángó confirmed her need to be an artist early in her career; and the latest project from Lisa Kirk (Backyard Adversaries (Ashes to Ashes), 2011), who sees a "sublime level of alchemy, the act of making work that is not only inspiring, but is revolutionary" in David Hammons' Fly Jar (1996). "The Influentials' offers a complex web of associations among SVA alumni and the artists who have through action or example, furthered their work," says co-curator Lincourt. "While group exhibitions are typically built around a technique or aesthetic concerns, this show looks at models of engagement and cooperation between contemporary female artists, and the deeper kinds of networking and community building that happen today in the studios, galleries and across the digital realm." This global network of artistic influence complements co-curator Smith-Stewart's assessment of feminism;s legacy as "connecting generations, genders, races, religions and power structures." click here : www.schoolofvisualarts.edu