About San Francisco Artists Alumni (SFAA)
SFAA is an international non-profit artist-run organization representing the alumni of the recently closed San Francisco Art Institute (SFAI). SFAI, founded in 1871, was one of the oldest and prestigious institutions of higher education in the practice and study of contemporary art. It was an institution with 150+ years of history renowned for its rich legacy of innovation in the contemporary fine arts.
SFAA was created in 2020 to advocate for SFAI alums, the SFAI archives and to communicate with the general arts community Our core mission is building community through events, a monthly artists’ lecture series, a newsletter and curating exhibitions We foster a sense of community and celebrate a century and a half of artistic excellence accomplished by the alums Our future plans are to create new partnerships with other cultural institutions to engage in a dialogue committed to original thinking in an open, experimental and interdisciplinary context
Curator’s Statement
Fever Dream explores the surreal nature of today’s political landscape. Amid the onslaught of online information, truth and reality have become ever more indistinct. The exhibition delves into the dark underbelly of contemporary life, where reality and deceit intertwine
In our increasingly connected yet fragmented world, we find ourselves surrounded by a constant barrage of misinformation - deep fakes and fake news - that gives rise to a sense of disorientation, paranoia, and confusion about what is true This exhibition shows works on paper and videos by SFAI alumni, which include drawings, prints, photos, and collages (hand-made or digital) in a salon-style installation
Fever Dream is a thought-provoking, visually captivating exhibition that resonates with the complexities of our contemporary world It challenges viewers to confront the blurred lines between fact and fiction, offering a unique opportunity to engage with the pressing issues of our time
Annie Reiniger-Holleb Curator, Fever Dream
April, 2024
ARTISTS
ADRIAN L. BURRELL
SFAI Alumni BFA 2018
Oakland, CA, US
https://www.instagram.com/adrianlburrell/
Door of No Return 2016
Archival pigment print
54 x 95 cm
LINDA CONNOR
SFAI Faculty
San Anselmo, CA, US
https://hainesgallery.com/linda-connor-bio
Bardo Mural, Ladakh, India
1985
Archival digital photo print
43 18 x 55 88 cm
DANIEL DAVIDSON
SFAI Alumni BFA 1990
Brooklyn, NY, US
https://danieldavidsonart com
It's Not Personal It's Just Business 2024
Acrylic on sewn shirt fabric
50 8 x 50 8 cm
These are paintings on grid patterned material cut out of my office shirts that had a grid pattern on them I had previously made "grid" drawings and digital images on printed grids and photographs of people wearing grid clothing Having been laid off during the pandemic, I cut up my office shirts and then bought more shirts in thrift stores I mounted the pieces of grid fabric on canvases that are sized to the back, front panels and sleeves of the shirts
ELENI EXARCHOU
SFAI Alumni BFA 1986
Glyfada, Attica, Greece
https://wwweleniexarchou art
Empty Dress
2023
paper, ink, pen, collage, thread, embroidery 21 cm x 32 cm
Drawing with ink came into my work ten years ago and has never left me ever since It was a new medium that grew immensely, making me express myself differently I have been gathering stories from women for almost 10 years now Women of all ages and backgrounds Each story is beautiful, painful, strong, hopeful, sad, exactly like life I thank all the women who trusted and will trust me with their stories I cherish and honor them by putting their words and feelings into my work
KAREN FINLEY
SFAI Alumni MFA 1981 and Honorary Doctorate 1992
New York City, NY, US
https://wwwinstagram com/the yam mam
The Uterus is None of Your God Damn Business 2023
Archival pigment (Giclee print), Archival fine art paper 100% cotton Moab Entrada Rag Natural
185/190 gsm
21 59 x 27 94 cm
ALINE MARE
SFAI Alumni MFA 1991 Los Angeles, CA, US
https://wwwalinemare com
Tulare 2023
Unique painted archival print
40 64 x 60 96 cm
BRUCE POLLACK
SFAI Alumni MFA 1980 San Francisco, CA, US https://www.brucepollackscollages.com
To Be Or Not 2024
Digital Photo Print on Aluminum
50 8 x 40 64 cm
RAMON QUANTA CHURRUCA & MATIAS JARAMILLO
SFAI Alumni BFA 1988
Bilbao, Spain
Calabaza Humana en Suburbia de Plano Texas 2024
Collage
55.88 x 45.72 cm
SFAI Alumni BFA 1988
Dallas, TX, US
SANDRA RAMOS
SFAI Alumni MFA 2021
Miami, FL, US
https://www.sandraramosart.com
Series: Quarantined Drawings The invisible karma 2020
Watercolor, collage, and pastel/paper
27 94 x 38 1 cm (each panel)
This series of drawings and video animations has functioned as cathartic art therapy in the face of the isolation imposed by the COVID-19 epidemic The drawings are small and spontaneous daily visual discharges, liberating moods and emotional energies using collage, watercolor, charcoal, and pastel
IVAR SMEDSTAD
SFAI Alumni BFA 1988
Oslo, Norway
https://www.pixelpunx.com
Trær i skogen
2023
B&W/Color video with sound
2:12
MAYA SMIRA & S.H.
SFAI Alumni MFA 2014
Tel-Aviv, Israel
https://wwwmayasmira com
Iran-Israel 2013 Video
14:48
Iran-Israel video and live performance show two young female artists leaning onto each other, pushing and holding at the same time. One is from Iran and the other from Israel, nowadays enemy countries. The scene takes place in a deserted landscape, which is similar both to the Israeli & Iranian remote landscapes. The women uses their bodies to create a simple shape of a triangle which they tend to keep stable even when their bodies start to exhaust and shake. The artists try to manifest the interpersonal tension that is generated by their bodies, as well as the political situation. This feminine manifestation of coexistence, depicts how bodies interact with each other in a situation of dependance & conflict.
SELBY SOHN
SFAI Public Education
San Francisco, CA, US
https://selbysohn.com
Daddy Long Legs 2023
Video, Wearable Sculpture (crochet gloves), and Drag Performance 3:41
NINA WEDBERG THULIN
SFAI Alumni BFA 1978
Stockholm, Sweden
https://wwwinstagram com/nina wedbergthulin
LOVE PEACE AND HAPPINESS FOR EVERYBODY NOW 2017
Ice, wood and plants
Dimensions variable
Special Thanks
Curator
Annie Reiniger-Holleb
Volunteers
Alan Holleb
Eddie Arroyo
Nina Wedberg Thulin
Mariana Ekner
Donor
DOMAH Fund
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
