When the Studio Art Hall opened in October 2014, it brought together under one roof art making, art appreciation and art interaction at the College. Housed in the building is the 1,500-square-foot Chan Gallery, made possible by Trustee Emeritus and art major Bernard Charnwut Chan ’88. This fall the Art Department celebrated the 10-year anniversary of the Studio Art Hall with “Lush Matter,” a Chan Gallery exhibition that served as a spotlight of alumni artwork inspired by nature.
Drenk’s “Compression 13”
Jessica Drenk ’02 traces her “Compression 13” piece (page 13, middle) back to her time at Pomona. One of her first projects for Professor Michael O’Malley involved transforming books into rich, unusual tunnel-like structures by removing their covers and tearing holes through them. “Books have become part of my repertoire, so that class was the beginning of my art career,” she says.
Falby’s “Peregrine”
Dan Falby ’12 sent the show four abstract ceramic sculptures (including “Peregrine,” page 13, bottom) that involved dropping and tossing clay slabs, relying on gravity to do its work. He says he strives to make art that has “a similar elemental happenstance” as natural phenomena. Falby was a visiting artist at the American Museum of Ceramic Art, then served as a ceramics instructor in Los Angeles before relocating to the Northeast in 2021.
Gewirtzman’s
“Black Velvet Canyon, Red Rocks”
Aliyana Gewirtzman ’12 submitted four pieces, including “Indifferent Earth,” a 40-inch-by-30-inch oil painting, and two ink drawings of Red Rock Canyon (below, upper-right) and Joshua Tree. She worked in New York for 10 years before leaving to travel the country in a camper van. She currently works as a full-time artist in Colorado, including teaching drawing and color theory courses remotely at the New York School of Interior Design.
Becca Lofchie ’10 (left), returned to the College to give a gallery talk earlier this month. She and classmates view her collection of ceramic vases. Photo by: Daniel Klein ’26
Becca Lofchie ’10 has a collection of ceramic vases on display in the show. While working professionally as a book designer, Lofchie took up ceramics a few years ago “as a way to do something with my hands,” she says. A design teacher at California State University, Los Angeles, Lofchie returned to the College earlier this month to give a gallery talk. Lofchie’s graphic design work clearly influences her ceramics, with an affinity for ’80s Memphis design that shows up in her bright color palettes and bold patterns.
Marsh’s “Untitled Mirror“
Tristan Louis Marsh ’18, an L.A.-based visual artist and designer, contributed four pieces: a pendant, mirror, chair and pair of candleholders. Creating works from wood and resin using a CNC machine and 3D printer, Marsh focuses on sculptural furniture and lighting that derive their form from biological structures and natural occurring phenomena. This summer Dezeen Magazine named Marsh’s studio one of “10 scene-setting independent design studios in Los Angeles.”
Yonten’s “Untitled (still life)”
Ugen Yonten ’22 is a second-year graduate student at the Yale School of Architecture, and contributed a still-life painting that he created at Pomona. The piece was a way for him to reflect on the pandemic and “the stillness of being back at home.” Tricia Avant, who serves as academic coordinator and gallery manager of art at Pomona, credits Yonten for his strong sense of artistic direction. “For just about any subject that he would tackle, he has his own aesthetic sensibility about it,” she says.