Class Notes

Sam Kaji (B.I.D. ’13) and Alvaro Uribe (B.I.D. ’10) have each been awarded 2013 Red Dot Design Awards. Kaji is recipient of two Red Dot Asia Awards for his Advanced Syringe and Medii projects, while Uribe is recipient of the Red Dot Concept award for his Plum Stool 2 (left). Uribe continues to work in design out of his Brooklyn studio and as a Visiting Professor at Pratt Institute.

Charles Lutz (B.F.A. Painting, Art History ’04) has enjoyed critical acclaim for his site-specific installation of Babel at the 2013 New York Armory Show. The installation was commissioned and curated by Eric Shiner, Director of the Andy Warhol Museum. Lutz’s first major solo show, Ends and Means, was recently held at New York’s C24 Gallery, and his works have been featured in Modern Painters magazine. More of his work is viewable at charleslutz.com.

Erwin Roemer (A.O.S. Graphic Design ’12) and Arturo H. Medrano (A.O.S. Graphic Design ’12) are two of the 70 internationally featured artists currently working in collage to be featured in a new publication by Gestalten (Berlin), The Age of Collage: Contemporary Collage in Modern Art, released in August. Erwin (“Tres”) and Arturo met while classmates at Pratt, and continue to produce work out of their Brooklyn studio. View their work at tresroemer.com and convulsive.tumblr.com.

Lorna Ritz’s (B.F.A. Art Education ’69) painted works have recently been exhibited in the office of Senator Rosenberg in The State House, Boston. Her painting technique is focused on representing light and space, described by the artist as “two elements that transcend object.” She is the 2013 recipient of The Artist’s Resource Trust grant, and her recent works will be exhibited in an upcoming gallery show at The Aidron Duckworth Museum in New Hampshire (2014). She has taught painting, drawing and sculpture for over 30 years. Her works and statement are viewable at lornaritz.com.

Charles Belfoure's (B.Arch. ’83) is author of a new novel, following the story of a gentile architect who designs hiding places for Jews escaping German-occupied Paris during WWII. The Paris Architect will be published in October by Sourcebooks Landmark. Called an “up and coming Ken Follet” by Booklist, Belfoure is also co-author of The Baltimore Rowhouse and author of Monuments to Money: The Architecture of American Banks. He taught site design at Pratt from 1990 to 1995.

Blackwell Hird (B.I.D. ’07) has launched his first video game, published by Esc Studios for the iPad and Android tablets. The release was accompanied by an exhibition at the Nohra Haime Gallery, Blackwell Hird: Onwards featuring the artist’s concept artwork for the game throughout the design and creation process. Hird entered the practice of video game design after working in Brooklyn's prop industry.

Kyle Monroe Dunnington (M.Arch ’13), recent recipient of the American Institute of Architects’ Henry Adams Award, has begun a new position with Zaha Hadid Architects. His designs with Studio Nexus for Chicago’s Clybourn Metra Station have been featured in suckerPUNCH and alongside other projects in IN PROCESS, Pratt School of Architecture’s annual review. His sculptural and painted works have also been featured in La Rotunda and Inklings literary magazine, viewable at kylemonroedunnington.com.

Lindsay Blatt (B.A. Photography ’02) has launched Archerfish, a new video production company. The company recently collaborated with London’s Victoria and Albert Museum to produce an intimate look into the studio practice of artist and fellow Pratt Alumna Barbara Nessim, in honor of her retrospective held at the Museum (more below). Blatt has also released her first film, a documentary short called Herd in Iceland that explores the nation’s horse herding traditions. Blatt continues to work as a staff photography editor with The New York Times. Visit her website at lindsayblatt.com.

Richard Simpson as a student at Pratt. Photo by Drew Babitts.Richard Simpson (B.A. Advertising Design ’58), Charles Avery (’50), and colleague Neal Prince have been honored for their design work with InterContinental Hotels by the New York School of Interior Design. From the 1960’s to the 1980’s, the team designed the interiors of more than 135 hotels. Simpson and Avery’s graphics projects for the designs were also featured by the School’s Alumni Gallery at 161 East 69th street. Today the international luxury hotel brand continues to grow with 170 hotels and resorts in over 60 countries.

Barbara Nessim (B.F.A. Graphic Arts & Illustration ’60) has enjoyed a first retrospective, Barbara Nessim: An Artful Life at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Douglas Dodds, the Museum’s senior curator of digital art described Nessim in The New York Times as “ . . . clearly a major figure in American art and design, and illustration in particular.” The newly published monograph of her work draws from the artist’s personal archives to further chronicle her lifelong practice in illustration.

Kelsy Parkhouse’s (B.F.A. Fashion ’12) new clothing label Carleen has been stocked by Bird owner Jen Mankins, attributed “Curator of the Brooklyn Look” by The New York Times. Parkhouse, who received the Liz Claiborne Award - Concept to Product at the 2012 Pratt Fashion Show, has garnered coverage for Carleen in W Magazine and Vogue Daily, as well as endorsement from Natalie Joos during Paris Fashion Week. Currently she continues full-time production from her Brooklyn studio.

Carla Camacho (M.S. History of Art and Design ’02) has been named a partner with the Lehmann Maupin Gallery after seven years of serving as financial director. In an interview with Gallerist, she describes how “ . . . it’s been amazing to develop my career at the same time that Lehmann Maupin has had such tremendous growth.” Since Camacho’s joining Lehmann Maupin’s first location in Chelsea, the Gallery has opened new branches in the Lower East Side of Manhattan and in Hong Kong.

Text: Ashley Kelleher