When a notable group of artists, scholars, and patrons of the arts founded the New York Academy of Art in 1982—Andy Warhol among them—they envisioned a graduate school for figurative painters and sculptors rooted in the classical painting traditions that many contemporary art schools had left behind. Forty years later, “the Academy,” as it is often called, is heralded in New York’s competitive art community for the caliber of talent it produces—not only technically accomplished painters and sculptors, but artists whose conceptual and artistic visions are equally rigorous.
It feels only fitting that we curators at Bond & Grace have found a distinct synergy with the four NYAA artists we’ve collaborated with over three Art Novels: Holly Lowen, Alayna Coverly, Isabella Ronchetti, and most recently, Cass Waters. Creating boundary-pushing work inspired by classic literature that transcends illustration is no easy feat—yet these women approached their collections inspired by Frankenstein, Alice in Wonderland, and The Great Gatsby with a great deal of confidence and introspection. Partnering with Bond & Grace during different phases of their NYAA training, Holly, Alayna, Isabella, and Cass produced deeply original collections of work—now published in the pages of Art Novels and sold through our website—that honor and expand the classic text while also pushing their own painterly practice forward.
Painter Holly Lowen (class of ’25) recently exhibited at the hot Eric Firestone Gallery and has seen increased interest among new and seasoned collectors alike. Partnering with Bond & Grace in 2023 to create work inspired by Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1818), Holly quickly discovered the benefits of using a richly historical text as a starting point for a series of paintings. Interested in the paradoxes of human nature, specifically “the coexistence of civility and primal instinct,” Holly was struck by Shelley’s exploration of human psychology, especially feelings of love, fear, and ambition. This interest in the human psyche and emotional expression is apparent in her resulting collection: No Birds Sing, Fearless Wanderer, and Final Irony. In fact, Holly became so inspired by the “conceptual backing” of the project that she decided to pursue an MFA at the Academy following her collaborations with B&G. “Storytelling is the essence of almost all art,” she reflected recently. “Even if the work is not directly narrative, I’m most inspired when I’m grounded in historical reference. That is something I will bring into my practice indefinitely.”
Approaching her collection for the Alice in Wonderland Art Novel one year after graduating from NYAA, Alayna Coverly (class of ’23) was able to directly apply the indirect painting techniques she learned during her first year of school to the stunning collection of hyperrealistic portraits she created for Bond & Grace. Resonating with the character of Alice’s emotional, outlandish journey through Wonderland, Alayna quickly realized that her own creative influences—namely, her interest in intimate relationships—were unexpectedly aligned with Carroll’s story and the Bond & Grace assignment at large. “One of the most rewarding experiences [from the Alice in Wonderland Art Novel experience] was painting a portrait of my best friend and her kitten in my indirect style, with influence from the story,” Alayna reflected, referring to a pensive, monochromatic painting called Moving Forward, inspired by Through the Looking-Glass. “It was a piece I wouldn’t have thought to pursue outside of Bond & Grace.”
Also featured in the Alice in Wonderland Art Novel is Isabella Ronchetti (class of ’26), an Italian-American artist who sees herself “more like an image-engineer or a haphazard philosopher” than a visual artist. The perfect unorthodox thinker to take on Carroll’s nonsensical prose, Isabella brought both her conceptual mind and striking technical skill to the task, producing three illustrations rich in irony and irreverence. A standout, It’s A Zoo, is spirited, satirical, and—true to Carrollian tradition—full of surprises. Seizing her own interest in surreal imagery, Isabella notes, “Lewis Carroll and I seem to agree that the supernatural often does a better job of touching on the absurdity of our existence here on earth.” Indeed, Isabella’s works are far from fairytale fluff; they are grounded in deep research and insightful conversations with B&G academic scholars. Having completed her Alice Art Novel collection prior to beginning her NYAA graduate degree, she says, “the Academy’s emphasis on history and theory is very much in line with the kind of research required of the Art Novel project. My fascination with the human figure is what brought me to the Academy and also what inspired my interpretation of Caroll’s text.”
Most recently, Cass Waters (class of ’25) created three works for Bond & Grace’s most ambitious project yet, The Great Gatsby Art Novel, available for pre-order and shipping in November, in the centennial year of Fitzgerald’s 1925 novel. Interested in urban landscapes and the socioeconomic barriers that divide urban communities, Cass took particular interest in Fitzgerald’s metaphorical Valley of Ashes and the “ash-grey men” who reside there. Her fine-tuned paintings of urban life, with their sumptuous pockets of light, capture both the inherent beauty and grit of life in an industrial society, offering a glimpse into the souls of those living on society’s edges. In a painting that explores how a city window can simultaneously protects, conceals, and reveal, “Bustling Out There” incorporates techniques of perspective learned under Professor Michale Grimaldi while all three of Cass’ paintings employ shellac, a medium she “got hooked on” while learning under Vincent Desederio. Cass’ collection debuts on BondandGrace.com in November.
As we approach the curatorial phase of our next Art Novel (whose title is still under wraps), we know where our first source for scouting artists is—the Academy. We have Holly, Alayna, Isabella, and Cass to thank for working tirelessly, engaging in deep literary analysis, and bringing new dimensions of storytelling to their beautiful collections. Thus far, the New York Academy of Art has proven itself an incubator of talent: a place where formal training meets unbridled imagination. As these four female artists remind us, whether creating with language or visuals, artists and writers alike are reaching for the same goal: creating imaginative worlds that bring us one step closer to understanding this wild, baffling life. We can’t wait to see where these artists—and the Academy—lead us next.
To learn more about how we work with artists, read “Inside the Bond & Grace ‘Art Novels’ That Put Artists at the Center of Classic Literature” in The Observer, featuring a Q&A with our Lead Curator, Maggie Lemak.
