MENTORS AND MAKERS: The Artists of Westmont College, at Sullivan Goss Gallery.

As part of its continuing commitment to exhibit the work of talented emerging artists alongside important established and historically significant artists, Sullivan Goss Gallery hosts an exhibition of works by the art department faculty of Westmont College. Mentors and Makers: The Artists of Westmont College opens on Dec. 6 with a 1st Thursday Reception from 5-8 p.m. The exhibition remains on view through Jan. 20.

The art department at Westmont College has always had an outsized influence on the art scene of the region. But tucked away in its bucolic Montecito campus, it can be easy to overlook how much concentrated talent is found there. “Currently, Westmont’s arts faculty consists of some of the most intriguing, adventurous, and distinct artists working in and around Santa Barbara, though their work is making waves over a much larger area,” says Curator Nathan Vonk.

Featured artists include:

Scott Anderson received his M.F.A. in illustration from The University of Hartford, and an M.A. in illustration from Syracuse University. His illustration work has appeared in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, LA Weekly, The Village Voice, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, and many others. He has also created numerous book covers for the popular “Who Is” series from the Grosset & Dunlap division of Penguin Books. His work has been awarded and recognized by Communication Arts, American Illustration, the Society of Illustrators New York, the Society of Illustrators Los Angeles, and in multiple volumes of Spectrum. A gallery painter as well, Anderson exhibits his figurative work annually with Sullivan Goss Gallery.

Scott Anderson, Wave 2, 2017, 7 x 11,” oil on canvas, on view at Sullivan Goss Gallery.

James Daly focuses on figurative work and classical methods in various genres. Most recently his art has been an exploration of movement, visual memory, and experience in the outdoors. Daly is a graduate of Westmont and UCSB with degrees in Studio art and a Masters in Education. For the last eleven years he has developed a classically based curriculum that follows atelier-style art education for Providence Upperschool and more recently joined Westmont as an adjunct instructor.

James Daly, Haskell’s Sunset, 2018, 6 x 8 inches, oil on board, on view at Sullivan Goss Gallery.

Nathan Huff earned his M.F.A. in Drawing and Painting, from California State University Long Beach, and also studied at Watts Atelier School of Art. Huff creates drawing and painting installations that function as freewheeling narratives: personal stories that explore the gaps between visual perception and modes of representation. Huff’s solo museum and gallery exhibitions have been featured at UCR Culver and Sweeney Galleries (Riverside), Los Angeles at D.E.N. Contemporary (West Hollywood), New Media Gallery (Ventura) Minthorne Gallery, (Oregon), and Gallerie View (Salambo, Tunisia.)

Nathan Huff, Skies and Schisms 5, 2018, 22 x 30 inches, gouache on paper, on board, on view at Sullivan Goss Gallery.

Sommer Roman was born and raised in California. She received her BA from UC Santa Cruz in 2004, and her MFA from UC Santa Barbara in 2014. She maintains a multi-disciplinary practice spanning sculpture, painting, and drawing and teaches part-time at California Polytechnic University (Cal Poly) & Westmont College in Santa Barbara. Some of her recent projects & exhibits include: Left Coast; Recent Acquisitions of Contemporary Art, a group exhibit at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art; Out of the Great Wide Open, a group exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara; Artist Residency & culminating solo exhibition, Passage at UC Santa Barbara; Artist Residency at The Squire Foundation, and most recently, In the Woods, Perpetual Youth, a solo exhibit at Ventura College.

Sommer Roman, Sighting no. 542, 2018, 55 x 20 x 26 inches, reclaimed fabric, clothing, pillows, feathers, paint, on view at Sullivan Goss Gallery.

Chris Rupp received his BA from Westmont College and an MFA from Azusa Pacific University. While trained primarily as a sculptor, Rupp does not limit his art making to traditional sculptural mediums or even three-dimensional forms. From graphite drawings, to molded plastic, or the use of unconventional store bought materials. His work has been exhibited at the Inland Empire Museum of Art, Biola University, Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum of Art, San Luis Obispo Museum of Art, The Channing Peake Gallery, and the Santa Barbara Arts Fund.

Chris Rupp, Dreamers Welcome, 2018, 18 x 30 inches, acrylic enamel paint on coir door mat, on board, on view at Sullivan Goss Gallery.

Meagan Sterling has an M.A. and an M.F.A. in Printmaking from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Her work has been displayed in many juried and group exhibitions, from Denver and Peoria to Seattle and Spokane. She says, “The paradox of daily life as safe and comfortable, juxtaposed with its polar opposite—defense against life’s uncertainties—appears to bully the American Dream itself. My art explores images of post World War II Americana where energy and resources were often used to advance comfort and promise safety and well being.”

Meagan Stirling, Everlasting Arms 5, 2018, 16 x 16 inches, Drypoint and Monoprint, on view at Sullivan Goss Gallery.

Sullivan Goss – An American Gallery, is located at 11 E. Anapamu St. in downtown Santa Barbara.

—Leslie Dinaberg

Originally published in Santa Barbara Seasons on December 2, 2018.