Mutual Gallery's Art Fresh and the School of Visual Arts Faculty Show 2012 are both on show this month. Art Fresh showcases the work of upcoming artists, and many have been taught by the SVA faculty. Visiting both exhibitions, it's tempting to compare one with the other to see how the students match up to their teachers. This year, it looks as though SVA's faculty have the edge, and their show is surprisingly fresher than Art Fresh. Maybe this is because the work displayed is from faculty who are themselves quite young, some having only graduated in the past decade but it's also an indication that the SVA is going through a generational shift and benefitting from its new hires. Whereas the SVA's old-guard stalwarts such as jeweler Garth Sanguinetti (Innovative Lace, 2012), painter Hope Brooks (Backra Pickney, 2010) and printmaker Eugenio D'Mellon (The Magician, 2012) are all well represented with handsome pieces that show craftsmanship and professionalism, it's the work by newer teachers such as Marlon James' series Mark Samuels (2011) and Olivia McGilchrist's Cement Works (2009), the meticulous installations by Paula Daley and Jean Chiang and digital collages by Phillip Thomas Seh Weh Yu a Seh Becaa Wi Knuo Weh Wi a Seh (2012) that prove most innovative and engaging. In fact, Olivia McGilchrist can be commended having been selected for both exhibitions with photographic portraits such as the Dear Daddy series (shown her) that display her conceptual range and technical accomplishment. The one flaw in the SVA show is scale. The works of all fourteen staff fit too neatly into the college art gallery's small space suggesting that these teachers are somehow constrained – if not by age then perhaps, circumstance.