CCA celebrates the opening of Alma Mater: Methods

On Saturday, June 15, California College of the Arts (CCA) opened the second iteration of the college’s alumni biennial, Alma Mater: Methods. This exhibition intentionally does not display finished work. Instead, recent alumni from across the college’s four divisions (Fine Arts, Design, Architecture, and Humanities & Sciences) were asked to share the process and methods that take place around making their work.

“Whether we are writers, curators, artists, designers, or architects, we all entertain false starts, tangents, and breakthroughs in our practices,” says alumna and co-curator Tanya Gayer. “But often, how we get to our final products or what inspired us along the way remains hidden from view. This exhibition reveals the inner processes of how and why we make our work and what values have remained since our time at CCA.”

Alma Mater: Methods explores shared threads of artistic practices of sketching, note taking, modeling, mapping, drafting, and rendering. These process-based methods expose the pathways creative individuals depend upon to obtain a final product or idea. By celebrating this amorphousness through the form of an exhibition, Alma Mater: Methods moves beyond what is often exhibited within the white cube—finality, succinct expression, monetary value—and instead prioritizes a thinking-through-making approach that is shared among the college’s creative communities and disciplines.

“Focusing this exhibition around sketch and ideation methods provided a great opportunity to suss out common and shared visual languages between all the varied disciplines,” says alumnus and co-curator Mik Gaspay. “This opened up options for a more playful approach to display and structure disparate works.”

In addition to the almost 200 alumni featured, CCA’s 2019 Alumnx Residents, Jamee Crusan and Zachary Royer Scholz, presented their works-in-progress in their studio spaces (141 and 131 Hubbell Street). The 2019 Alumnx Residency runs June 3 to August 5 and offers a platform for two recent alumnx (2009–2019) to develop and publicly present projects, performances, readings, workshops, or collections of work.

Alma Mater: Methods is co-curated by Beth Abrahamson (MFA Design 2015), Sarah Hobstetter (MArch 2010), Mik Gaspay (MFA 2011), and Tanya Gayer (MA Curatorial Practice, Visual & Critical Studies 2016).

Artists Featured

Zafer Aksit (MFA 2012) // Nicole Irene Anderson (Painting & Drawing 2017) // Manuel Angeja (Painting & Drawing 2005, MFA 2014) // Calen Barca-Hall (MFA 2014) // Nathan Becka (MFA 2017) // Ken Becker (MA Curatorial Practice 2014) // Termeh Behbahani (Painting & Drawing 2016) // Sonia Belasco (MFA Writing 2009) // Jack Bool (Photography 2016) // William Bottini (MFA Design 2017) // Luke Bowlus (Illustration 2016) // John Damian Boychuk (MFA 2016) // Han Boyuan (Painting & Drawing 2018) // Lukaza Branfman-Verissimo (Printmaking 2015) // Maureen Burdock (MFA, MA Visual & Critical Studies 2014) // Margherita Buzz (MFA Design 2015) // Ethan Caflisch (Individualized Studies 2015) // Aliena Cameron (Graphic Design 2017) // Katherin Canton (Community Arts 2011) // Sean Canty (BArch 2012) // Natalie Catasús (MFA Writing, MA Visual & Critical Studies 2015) // Megan Cerminaro (Photography 2013) // Jiajia Chen (Graphic Design 2015) // Abby Chen (MA Visual & Critical Studies 2011) // Troy Chew (MFA 2018) // David Chin (MBA in Design Strategy 2017) // Alan Chin (Ceramics 2011) // Benjamin Cirgin (MFA 2016) // Erinn Clancy (Media Arts 2010) // Jillian Clark (MFA 2011) // Nicolas Colón (Sculpture 2011) // Ben Coney (Furniture 2018) // Francesca Cozzone (MFA 2014) // Haegen Crosby (Industrial Design 2014) // Torreya Cummings (MFA 2009) // Jessamyn Violet Cuneo (MFA Writing 2011) // Shaghayegh Cyrous (MFA Social Practice 2017) // Ebony Iman Dallas (MFA Design 2009) // Marian K. Dilan (Illustration 2010) // D'Sjon Dixon (Architecture 2009) // Kira Dominguez Hultgren (MFA, MA Visual & Critical Studies 2019) // Eric Dyer (MFA 2013) // Jamie Emerick (MFA 2013) // Lisa Fong (Painting & Drawing 2018) // Kadi Franson (MArch 2012) // Sienna Freeman (MFA, MA Visual Critical Studies 2016) // James Friedberg (Glass 2009) // Garth Fry (MFA 2016) // Marissa Geoffroy (MFA 2017) // Eva Gibeau (Photography 2015) // Zachary Gibson (MFA Design 2011) // T2R/Laura Gillmore (MFA 2018) // Peter Glanting (MFA Comics 2016) // Rebekah Goldstein (MFA 2012) // Matthew Gordon (MFA 2009) // Tej Greenhill (Painting & Drawing 2012) // C.A. Greenlee (MFA 2015) // Elena Gross (MA Visual & Critical Studies 2016) // Maya Gulassa (Individualized Studies 2018) // Maria Guzmán Capron (MFA 2015) // Annie Hagar (MFA 2014) // Liz Hernández (MFA Design 2015) // Michelle Herrera (Individualized Studies 2018) // Cristina Hobbs (Painting & Drawing 2011) // Graham Holoch (Photography 2014) // Kathryn Ian (MFA 2016) // Valerie Iosso (Individualized Studies 2017) // Nayoung Jeong (Ceramics 2011) // Angela Mini Jo (Jewelry & Metal Arts 2012) // Mark Johnsen (Photography 2012) // Celeste R. Johnson (Fashion Design 2013) // Nick Johnson (MFA Writing 2011) // Brianna Kalajian (Photography 2013) // Raquel Kalil (MFA Design 2018) // Wioleta Kaminska (MFA Design 2014) // Jordan Karnes (MFA Writing 2012) // Vernon Keeve (MFA Writing 2013) // Jim Kettner (MFA Writing 2013) // Sarah Kim (Graphic Design 2015) // Mallory Kimmel (MFA 2019) // Jennifer Klecker (MFA 2015) // Sophie Lourdes Knight (Painting & Drawing 2014) // Maia Kobabe (MFA Comics 2016) // Nami Kurita (Graphic Design 2012) // Patricia Leal (Sculpture 2017) // Sarah Lee (MFA 2016) // Sarah Lesnikoski (Painting & Drawing 2016) // Cara Levine (Sculpture 2012) // Leah Yael Levy (MFA Comics 2017) // Joseph Liatela (Individualized Studies 2017) // Lana Licata (Painting & Drawing 2015) // Anna Ludwig (MFA 2010) // Leora Lutz (MFA, MA Visual & Critical Studies 2014) // Carolina Magis Weinberg (MFA, MA Visual & Critical Studies 2017) // Phillip Maisel (MFA 2013) // Atoosa Maleki (Painting & Drawing 2016) // Rob Marks (MA Visual & Critical Studies 2011) // Forrest McGarvey (MFA, MA Visual & Critical Studies 2016) // James-David Mericle (MFA 2010) // Mary Mocas (MFA 2016) // Nastaran Mousavi (MArch 2013) // Bonny Nahmias (Sculpture 2016) // Richard-Jonathan Nelson (MFA 2017) // Colin Nitta (Illustration 2010) // Rosa Novak (Ceramics 2017) // Toyin Ojih Odutola (MFA 2012) // Rebecca Ora (MFA 2010) // Gigi Otálvaro-Hormillosa (MA Visual & Critical Studies 2012) // Zach Ozma (Community Arts 2015) // Amber Padilla (MFA Comics 2018) // Adam Park (MFA Writing 2017) // Helena Parriott (Individualized Studies 2010) // Piero Passacantando (MFA 2009) // Larry Peifer (Interior Design 2012) // Nate Petterson (MFA 2015) // Luis Pinto (MFA 2015) // Molly Prentiss (MFA Writing 2012) // Amanda Quiroz (Painting & Drawing 2010) // Cynthia Randolph (MBA in Design Strategy 2017) // Megan Reed (MFA 2015) // Tracy Ren (Ceramics 2018) // Jordan Reznick (MFA, MA Visual & Critical Studies 2013) // Erich Richter (Sculpture 2010) // Allison Rowe (MFA 2011) // Samiat Salami (MFA Writing 2012) // Dorothy Santos (MA Visual & Critical Studies 2014) // Jennifer Schnell (MFA Design 2014) // Zachary Royer Scholz (MFA, MA Visual & Critical Studies 2009) // Aline Schwibbe (MFA 2018) // Courtney Sennish (MFA 2015) // Emmanuel Sevilla (MFA 2015) // Jennifer Shada (MFA 2016) // Wei-Ching Shyu (MFA Comics 2016) // James Sinclair (Photography 2014) // Diana Stapleton (MFA, MA Visual Critical Studies 2015) // Adair Stephens (MFA 2012) // Amber Stucke (MFA 2011) // Anton Stuebner (MA Visual & Critical Studies 2014) // Lauren Jade Szabo (Illustration 2010) // Amy Tavern (MFA 2017) // Matthew Harrison Tedford (MA Visual & Critical Studies 2011) // Courtney Trouble (MA Visual & Critical Studies 2015, MFA 2017) // Zoe Tuck (Writing & Literature 2014) // Maximilian Uriarte (Animation 2013) // Ana Valdez (Illustration 2016) // Josh Vidal (Individualized Studies 2012) // Benjamin Vilmain (MFA 2012) // Jessica Violetta (Illustration 2017) // Lizzie Wallack (MArch 2010) // Brandon Walls Olsen (MFA 2009) // Josh White (MFA Comics 2016) // Lily Williams (Animation 2014) // Micah Wood (MFA 2015) // Calder Yates (MFA, MA Visual & Critical Studies 2014) // Zhou Zoe Yuan (Jewelry & Metal Arts 2016) // Jake Ziemann (MFA 2012)

Exhibition graphics by Eggy Press/Graham Holoch

Exhibition Information

California College of the Arts presents Alma Matter: Methods

Exhibitions dates: June 15–July 26, 2019

Location: CCA Hubbell Street Galleries, 161–151 Hubbell Street, San Francisco, CA 94107

Gallery summer hours: Noon–5pm, Thursdays and Fridays; and by appointment through July 26

Admission: Free

To schedule an appointment or for more Information, please email: [email protected]

Instagram: @ccaexhibitions