About San Francisco Artists Alumni (SFAA)
SF Artists Alumni (SFAA) is an international, nonprofit, artist-run organization representing alumni of the recently closed San Francisco Art Institute (SFAI). Founded in 1871, SFAI was one of the oldest and most prestigious institutions dedicated to contemporary art practice and education in the United States. Known for its legacy of radical innovation and experimental approaches, SFAI fostered generations of influential artists.
Established in 2020, SFAA advocates for SFAI alumni, protects the legacy of its archives, and builds bridges to the broader arts community We host public programming including a monthly lecture series, curated exhibitions, and a regular newsletter to sustain and expand our creative network
As we honor over 150 years of artistic excellence, we remain committed to forging new partnerships and fostering interdisciplinary dialogue that continues the spirit of SFAI
Curators’ Statement
In our second year of curating a pop-up exhibition of SFAA Alumni at Tryst, I have been drawn to the idea of resilience and resistance, as well as the resolve to get back up and continue moving forward. This is required not just of individuals in society today, but more importantly, the role of makers in 2025. It's not easy to get out of bed and move forward with life when the world has turned upside down, let alone make “art.” However, it's the role of the maker to do just that!
to resist, to reboot, and repeat and do our part to show the world a brighter place.
So I channel the words of the very wise SFAI ICON Dewey Crumpler and his thoughts on being a maker, taken from a recent SFAA Spotlight:
You control what you bring to the table
Be resistant to bullshit, One’s integrity is one's power, And most importantly, never quit
The makers we have assembled to share with you do just that
Michael Robert Pollard
For my second year co-curating SFAA’s entry into the Tryst Art Fair I wanted to give deeper thought to the location the fair takes place, in what is basically an abandoned building and how the changing of the building over the past few years might have informed what people show and how the audience perceives the event. Year one was completely un-constructed and rough. I thought that was thrilling. To be surrounded by wires hanging from the ceiling etc. I’m excited about the variety of work this year in our presentation and to connect with more alumni and other artists for a fun weekend of art.
Toban Nichols
ARTISTS
ALICIA RENADETTE
MFA Sculpture, 2002
Providence, RI
wwwaliciarenadettestudio com
Retracing My Steps 1 (after As the Stimulus Becomes Supraliminal ) 2025
16 5 x 24 in Pen and ink, colored pencil, graphite, soft pastel on Bristol and Duralar, hand-sewn with monofilament
These multi-layered drawings use in-process photographs of my sculptures to create a singular image Each sculpture is built intuitively and goes through many phases of development The work emerges from a swirling soup of textures and material contradictions: synthetic and organic, glinting and dull, precious and disposable, sharp and soft These vibrant, maximalist configurations mirror my desire to create harmony and wonder from overwhelm and anxiety
ANNIE REINIGER-HOLLEB
BFA Painting 1980
Santa Monica, CA
wwwinstagram com/reinigerholleb
Blue Shimmer 2024
9 x 12 x ¾ in Acrylic paint on Board
My paintings create chaotic, abstract spaces where gravity and perspective are ignored. Grids serve not as order, but as fragile boundaries barely containing overflowing forms lines, colors, and floating shapes in constant flux These unruly compositions evoke collapse and anxiety of accumulation, disintegration and renewal, reflecting cycles of entropy and rebirth
DAVE HOKER
MFA 2002
St Louis, MO www.instagram.com/dezhoker
Daily Mask 2025 8 x 10 ½ Mixed Media
EMBERLY MODINE
BFA 2002
Los Angeles, CA wwwemberlycom
37 77142° North, -35 21302° East 2025
32 x 24 in Gouache on Paper
Emberly Modine was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, during the great cultural shift of the 1970s. As personal liberation and rebellion against authority became key themes of the decade, so were they key themes in Emberly’s upbringing. Proud feminism, anti-violence and the cultivation of perceptual curiosity were the norms in her kids books and conversation. In 1983, her family moved to the small town of Moab, in the Canyonlands area of Utah.
Growing up in a community of Mormon homesteaders, Dinéh peoples, Miners and Environmentalists made for an early, and intense education in post colonialism, racism, displacement and ecological value A childhood in the great expanse of the Southwest gave the gift of the deepest love and respect for The Land
Emberly seeks to investigate the meaning of narrative in relation to the natural world; alighting on topics of ownership, sentiment and myth; in contrast to eschatological forces and the ultimate power of the natural world
LAURA RICCI
MFA Painting 2002
Los Angeles, CA
wwwlauraricci net
WHD#1
2024
approx. 36 x 30 in Found stick, bougainvillea twigs and thorns, bedroom mirror shards, watercolor paper, rubber, glass disco tiles, fake grass powder, racket grip tape, glue, rope, masking tape, mirrored paper, lantern LED lights
Laura Ricci is an LA artist interested in collaborating with intuitive entities and imaginative realms She has been asking the ethers for guidance on how to prepare, survive, protect and thrive through these shit times This piece, WYRD HYBRID DEFENDER #1 was the first response to emerge from the mists She bound all the studio detritus together by hand and plans to deploy it in psychic defense
MARIA THERESA BARBIST
MFA New Genres 2014
Miami, FL
wwwmariatheresabarbist com
Collection Box Series: Miami-Dade County Vol 1 2024
8 3 x 5 9 in Book
The USPS collection boxes, often overlooked in daily life, are celebrated in this book as tangible representations of the ties that bind communities together
These blue boxes, seemingly simple and functional, carry the weight of countless personal and public histories From love letters to mail ballots, they serve as silent witnesses to the stories of our lives, providing a crucial service that transcends mere function.
They symbolize continuity and connection in an ever-changing world
MICHAEL ROBERT POLLARD
BFA 1997, Post-Bac 2001
Chicago, IL
wwwmichaelrobertpollard net
Internal Call and Response: 2024 2024
15 x 20 in Mixed Media on paper
This piece represents a call to myself for a renewed focus on my artmaking roots and sensibilities
Armed with pencils, ink, paint, found objects, canvas, and discarded materials, Pollard employs recurring and spontaneous colors and marks to create a language and exploration that reflects a personal narrative of spirit in today’s world
Michael has shown his work in solo and group exhibitions across the United States, including Roman Susan, The MDW Art Fair, the Tryst Art Fair, Museum of Northern California Art, Free Range Gallery, Side Car Gallery, Ignition Projects, South Suburban Junior Gallery, SAIC Sullivan Gallery, Community College of Rhode Island, Shockboxx Gallery, Davis Art Center, Kim's Corner Grocery and many others
Michael graduated with a BFA and Post-Bacc Certificate from the San Francisco Art Institute
Michael Robert Pollard was born in New York City in 1970 and raised in New York City, Tucson, Arizona, and the San Francisco Bay Area Pollard currently resides in the People's Republic of Rogers Park on Chicago's far north side, although he left his heart in San Francisco
Fight for Peace, Love, and Respect for All!
RAMÓN QUANTA CHURRUCA
BFA Performance/Video 1989
Bilbao, Basque Country, Spain
wwwinstagram com/ramon quanta
TRUMP GAZA RESORT 2025
23 22 in x 35 43 in Documentation photographs of Installation and Performance
Churruca is one of the most notable exponents of performance art in the Basque Country. His years of dedication to the subject, combined with the artist’s personal charisma, make his body, language, ideas, and objects a creative vehicle for action and compulsive transmission Churruca is very much like a bertsolari; he chooses the subject, finds the stage, and begins to spit out ideas He also shares many similarities with flamenco singers who warm up throughout the concert, reach a climax at a climactic moment, and leave the audience guessing about how or when it will end. Always critical of the power systems that surround him, he points out where it hurts the most, without mincing words Attending one of his performances is to witness creativity in its purest and cathartic state.
TOBAN NICHOLS
MFA 2003 – New Genres
Los Angeles, CA
wwwtobannichols com
Gimpy Chiffon
2025
5 x 3 ft
Textile, thread, zippers, appliques
Gimpy Chiffon is meant to represent a fun, happy, colorful take on traditional fetish-wear which is normally black leather or another specific non-bright color and meant to be a very dark and serious subculture with its origins in Nazi occupied Germany and co-opted by the LGBTQI+ community in the 1970’s The gay community has adapted the culture of leather fetish wear further over the past 5 decades and added deeper meanings to color choice and the type of activities these leather and bondage costumes are used for I seek to further adapt and evolve the use of color, pattern and shape of fetish wear into an ebullient body of print and video work by incorporating unusual and non-traditional styles and brighter textured fabrics that convey joy while mirroring scenes of mundane daily life This is all to further remove fetish wear from its stigma in broader culture and most specifically to evolve it even farther away from Nazi-ism and white supremacy.
The costume is the main component of an upcoming new body of photographic and video work shot in the deserts of New Mexico in 2025
UJJAYINI SIKHA
MFA 2021–2022 (unfinished due to school closure)
Berkeley, CA
wwwujjayinisikha com
Community Security Blanket
2024
Dimensions variable Wool, yarn, knitting needles, sewing needles
Originally launched in 2024 at the Museum of Northern California Art in Chico, CA, Community Security Blanket began as part of a community-building multimedia installation within In Flux: Recalibrating the Unknown, SFAA’s first in-person exhibition It next traveled to the Museum of Sonoma County in Santa Rosa as part of UNRULY: North Bay Artists from the San Francisco Art Institute. Now continuing its journey to SFAA exhibitions, this growing artwork reflects our belief in collaboration coming together for mutual benefit as a hopeful and powerful response to complex challenges.
VERONICA DE JESUS
BFA 1998 wwwveronicadejesusart com
Los Angeles, CA
untitled 2025 8 x 10 in Book
Veronica De Jesus is a visual artist known for work that merges drawing, collage, and personal narrative. Her ongoing book projects explore grief, memory, and spiritual transformation through diaristic mark-making and text This new untitled piece continues her practice of using the book form as both container and catalyst where visual language becomes a means to hold space for vulnerability, protest, and poetry.
SPECIAL THANKS
Curators
Michael Pollard
Toban Nichols
SFAA Board
Maria Theresa Barbist (President)
Annie Reiniger-Holleb (Vice-President)
Marian Wallace (Interim Treasurer)
Toban Nichols (Co-Secretary)
Brianna Hyneman (Co-Secretary)
Cristina Velazquez
Jackie Buttice
Linda Connor
Lior Bar
SFAA Advisory Board
April Martin
Becky Alexander
Jeff Gunderson
Rye Purvis
and all participating SFAI artists!
San Francisco Artists Alumni info@sfartistsalumni.org
sfaa.art
Back cover image: Ramón Quanta Churruca, TRUMP GAZA RESORT, 2025