Around 100 visit Brandstater Gallery for Alumni Exhibit opening

He takes note of how members of K2’s target groups dress, the foods they like and other interests. For example, “If I see them wearing a print, I [might] put a nod to that in the design,” Raboteau said. He also considers what the brand communicates to consumers and how it inspires them.

Raboteau, a 2017 alum of La Sierra University’s Art+Design Department is among 14 art program alumni who participated in an exhibit at Brandstater Gallery between Feb. 19 and March 14. It was the first show of its kind at Brandstater in more than 10 years and officially opened with a reception and artists’ panel discussion on Feb. 24. Approximately 100 people attended the event. 

The Alumni Exhibit featured a variety of media ranging from illustrations and photography, to video, graphic design, mixed media, and textiles. The artworks were created by former students of the Art+Design Department who attended La Sierra at varying points over the past 41 years and who have continued to engage in an ongoing creative practice. Art department faculty who are also alums were not included in the show as faculty members have their own exhibitions at the gallery.

Other artists in the show were Nic Sanchez, Rachel Cho, Amy Cronk, Daniel Aldana, Elyse Whittier Paek, Brandon Grainger, Joemm Blanche, Valdenis Iancu, Kiyomi Fukui Nannery, Lauren Prado, Jeff Francis, Nora Ayala, and Katie Nahab. Sanchez participated in the panel discussion from New York via Skype.

The exhibitors hail from Los Angeles, Long Beach, San Francisco, Seattle, Hawaii, Brooklyn, New York and other regions around the country and the state. Their art work has appeared in galleries, children’s books, magazines, calendars, music videos, on building signage, snowboards, on websites, in marketing campaigns, digital apps, and as branded merchandise. Some have done creative work for feature films, television series and commercials, and some pursue freelance art enterprises and work as art educators.

Brandstater Gallery Director Tim Musso said he hopes the show “will inspire our current students to see the breadth of creative activities available to them when they transition from life at La Sierra. It is equally important for our department to reconnect with alumni from our program and to give these individuals the opportunity to connect and interact with our current students.”

Raboteausubmitted five snowboard prototypes emblazoned with his designs which included a red, pink, gray and black swirling liquid pattern and a pale blue board overlain with sprigs of white cherry blossoms. Both are incorporated into K2 logo and color block elements. The boards are part of the 2019 K2 Snowboard Women’s Collection which will be released to the marketplace at the end of the year. Raboteaudesigned upwards of 70 percent of the line. 

Art alum Francis is a nature photographer and 1975 graduate of La Sierra. He submitted two large photographs of nature scenes – a body of icy water reflecting a colorful sky and edged by mountains, and a photo of dark woods fronted by contrasting white birch trees. His color-rich, large-format photographs of the Southwestern canyons and mesas in Utah and Arizona and in California’s national parks have graced the pages of Arizona Highways and other publications, as well as nature calendars. He has also participated in the prestigious Laguna Arts Festival and has exhibited in several galleries.

“Since my early years taking photographs I have never lost my love of the simple beauty and color of God’s creation,” Francis said in an artist’s statement. “I seek to show the beauty and perfection of nature in an artistic way.”

The 1,200-square-foot Brandstater Gallery, designed by Robert Burman, is part of La Sierra’s Visual Art Center. It was established in 1984 with a donation from the children of Roy and Frances Brandstater – Rhona, Bernard, Murray and Lynne. 

“I have watched the department for many years,” said Bernard Brandstater who attended the art opening with his brother, Murray. “It’s just a joy for me to come and see the outcome. It’s [artwork] so varied and so individualized. Each graduate has built upon his or her natural talents.” He added, “I’ve come to admire the vision of Tim Musso. He has broadened the scope of what is displayed here.” 

Said Murray Brandstater, “I’m really very surprised at the success of the alumni here. We have a wonderful set of successful people.” He added that it has been “very gratifying” to witness the work of the gallery and of the department’s overall pool of art students, many of who enter scientific careers.

During the opening reception panel discussion, the artists gave insights and advice to current students about a variety of topics including the realities of finding work in a highly competitive environment. 

Nahab, a resident of San Francisco’s East Bay, graduated from La Sierra’s Bachelor of Fine Arts program in 2013 and in 2018 earned a Master of Fine Arts in visual development from the Academy of Art University. She is currently a freelance children’s book illustrator and is looking for work in the animation industry or as an art educator. 

Nahab said she had applied for about 60 jobs and received two calls. “It’s tough out there,” she said. “Find something to pay the bills, but don’t let it get in the way of following what you want to do,” she advised students in the audience.

“It’s rough. I found my first design job off Craigslist,” Raboteau said, adding that a professional demeanor and appearance are vital when first starting out.

In a questionnaire for the exhibit, the artists discussed their experiences at La Sierra University and its impact on their lives.

“Without La Sierra, I would never have been introduced to the art and design world at all,” said Sanchez, a 2010 Art+Design graduate. “I’m eternally grateful to the faculty of the art department for opening my eyes to the possibilities of design,” he said.

Sanchez is an art director and design lead at the Brooklyn, New York offices of global creative network Stink Studios. He works on television commercials, responsive websites, and 360 brand campaigns that encompass a variety of platforms and includes identity designs and signage for The New School in New York.

The artists also had words of advice for art students. “Try things you’re bad at,” Nahab said. “Every artist makes a thousand ugly things before their masterpiece.” 

“Take a business class,” said Blanche during the panel discussion. The 2008 graduate started out as a pre-dental major and switched to fine art. He created an art-based lifestyle brand working out of his parents’ garage and which is now known as CBNC. The brand morphed into lifestyle products distributed to such notable retailers as Nordstrom and Urban Outfitters. Blanche submitted a selection of mixed media panels for the Alumni Exhibit which he had previously displayed in galleries in Los Angeles and Anaheim.

“Don’t stop making, even if you end up in a cubicle,” said Lauren Prado, a 2014 alumna and textile artist whose giant, needlepoint shoe illustrations reach to the top of Brandstater Gallery in the Alumni Exhibit. “It’s important to continue growing and learning.”

Kayla Perkins, a sophomore art major walked the gallery as the reception wound down on Feb. 24, taking in the work of others who had studied and exhibited there before her. “It’s kind of [amazing],” she said, “the success of all these people who have gone through this major. It puts this crazy perspective on what I can do. It’s very inspiring.”