Born in 1935, Bruce McGaw is a key figure in the Bay Area Figurative Movement. His artistic journey began in the 1950s when he studied under Richard Diebenkorn at the California College of the Arts, where he graduated with a BFA in 1957. Initially drawn to Abstract Expressionism, McGaw shifted to a more representational style, focusing on the human figure—a theme that has defined his work for over half a century. McGaw's work resonates with the energy and innovation of fellow Bay Area artists like David Park and Elmer Bischoff, making him a pivotal contributor to the region's rich artistic legacy.

Rye Purvis is originally from Moriarty, New Mexico and is enrolled member of the Navajo Nation. She is a PhD Candidate in the Native American Studies Department at University of California, Davis. Rye received an Associates of Science in the Funeral Service Education program at American River College in December 2023, and a Bachelors of Fine Art in Painting from San Francisco Art Institute in 2011.

Cecilia Sterner is a Swedish artist working with found objects and recycled material in film installations and performances. People’s shortcomings, delusions, and bewilderment at our failure to comprehend one another are common threads running through her work. She explore perception, in a psychological sense, how each of us is the center of our own universe, our expectations, misconceptions, bad judgment, our loss of memory and inability to get the big picture. And the humor of it all.

Artist Evri Kwong was born in San Francisco and raised in the Bay Area. He attended the San Francisco Art Institute where he received a BFA and MFA in Drawing and Painting. During graduate school, Kwong was awarded a full fellowship to study at the prestigious Skowhegan School Of Painting and Sculpture in Maine. He has received grants from the Pollock-Krasner Foundation, the Lannan Foundation, and the Adolph & Esther Gottlieb Foundation Grant for Painting. Currently, he teaches at California College of the Arts in San Francisco as an adjunct professor in drawing and painting.

Nykelle DeVivo is a southern California visual artist working primarily with lens-based mediums to explore the crossroads between the physical world and that of our ancestors. Employing the languages of Afrofuturism, queer/trans expression, and alter work, Nykelle uses their art as an extension of their spiritual practice. They studied theory & photography at the San Francisco Art Institute before going on to have their works acquired by permanent museum collections across the country, becoming an inaugural Google Image Equity Fellow, and exhibiting their images in numerous exhibitions.

Adrian Burrell is a third-generation Oakland artist utilizing photography, installation, and experimental media. His work examines issues of race, class, and intergenerational dynamics, Inviting moments where collective Storytelling could be a site for remembering. Burrell has lived and worked on four continents. He is a US Marine Corps veteran and a graduate of the San Francisco Art Institute (BFA, film) and Stanford University (MFA, Department of Art & Art History). At Stanford, he lectured, served as Black Graduate student community outreach chair, and was a visiting Artist with Stanford's Institute for Diversity in Arts.

In her interdisciplinary practice, Jovi Schnell’s work explores the cosmic interplay of interconnected blooming networks. Her nomadic adventures began in the Ozarks in Arkansas, where her deep fasciation of biological systems and experimental culture took root, eventually leading her to Amsterdam, New York, San Francisco and her current residence in Los Angeles. Her paintings appear both on canvas and as large murals in institutions and public space. She earned her BFA from the San Francisco Art Institute in ‘92 and her MFA from UC Berkeley in 2017.

During this month's Spotlight talk, the collaboration lead Eve Werner and the team leads—Annamarta Dostourian & Emily Jane Corbett (mending), Bianca Lago & Kristen Gundlach (closet), Guillermo Pulido & Martin Wohlwend (sound and messages), and Ujjayini Sikha (community security blanket)—will delve into the project's concept, collaborative process, and the final installation.

Jeremy Morgan was born in 1956 in Cambridge, England. Educated at the Ruskin school of Drawing (University of Oxford) 1974-77, The Royal Academy Schools (RA) London 1979-82, and at the San Francisco Art Institute 1983-85. Between 1983-85 he was a Harkness Fellow. He is an Associate Professor of Painting at SFAI where he has taught since 1989 in both the Undergraduate and Graduate programs. He has also taught at JFK University (Arts and Consciousness program - Graduate Program), CCA in Oakland, California, and given various workshops in China (CAA Hanghzou, CAA Beijing, Luxan Academy, Shenyang).

Consuelo Méndez (born 1952 in Caracas, based in Graz, Austria) studied in California, where she obtained a Bachelor’s and a Master’s Degree in Fine Arts. She was part of the group Mujeres Muralistas of San Francisco, CA, until 1976. She was an artist associate professor and researcher at Instituto Armando Reverón since 1991 and is now a retired professor from UNEARTES.

Originally from Fort Worth, Texas, Andrea Nicolette Gonzales now lives and works in San Francisco, California. After completing her bachelors degree from Texas Wesleyan University she worked as a make-up artist and was asked to face paint for a Dia De Los Muertos event; which led to her fascinating and exploration of the three-dimensional surface of the face and body.

The new space for the SFAI archive at the Crown Point Press building 20 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, 94105 is now open for visitors! Becky Alexander and Jeff Gunderson will give us an online tour and share some insights about their work to digitize this wonderful treasure of SFAI history for future generations.