Latin School of Chicago

stained glass, Jessica created her own liturgy by painting phrases from punk song lyrics and from political placards carried by protesters around the world. Jessica joined the Class of '89 in kindergarten, and considers herself a 14-year vet though she also spent her junior year in France as part of School Year Abroad, with which Latin has been aliated for decades. at experience emboldened her to move her family to Berlin for bit a few years ago, just as it was becoming a mecca for artists, before returning to Portland, OR. She credits Latin for helping her discover a way to lose herself in literature and the arts, especially in the tough teenage years. "I loved my education, and it has fed me," she said, notably Dr. James Spiegler and the late Greg Baker and Dr. Richard Dolezal "And I think Greg Baker was right about Ulysses being read by teenagers," she mused. "Because I remember having my heart explode from one line and writing about it in my journal." A photography class with Betty Lark Ross was also especially meaningful: "I always felt like art was salvic," she said. "But at Latin, I didn't see myself as an artist yet." Jessica studied history at Oberlin College before earning her M.F.A. from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Yet, while she is included in Vitamin C: Ceramic and Clay in Contemporary Art (published by creative arts publisher Phaidon last October) as a survey of the top 100 artists worldwide working in these materials, she remains almost deantly uninterested in acquiring – or at least showcasing – her own skills. "at came from a seminal decision I made," she explained. "I want to resist design and commodication, even of the artist's hand. ... "Creative process is still in many ways my content," she mused. "It is the meta content." DOLLY BROSS GEARY '95, gallerist - New York Dolly's time at Latin was part of a long family tradition: e school has helped educate her siblings Suzette Bross Bulley '86, Jonathan Bross '87 and Lisette Bross '89; stepsiblings George York '91, Charlotte York '93 and Alice York '01; and current seventh grader Avery Bross '22 and 10th grader Parker Bross '20. Dolly was part of the Class of '95 from third through eighth grade. before boarding at St. Paul's School. Art was an early interest for Dolly. "At Latin, I loved Adrienne Leslie's art class – I remember inking up actual dead sh to make prints on the paper," she said. "I also remember an incredible unit on cave art in sixth grade that linked up with what we were studying in history class." She studied American history and literature at Harvard, where she ultimately met her husband and business partner, Jack Geary. But the couple weren't drawn to the art world right away; rst, he had a career in nance and she earned a master's in theology from the General eological Seminary while they raised their two children. In 2013, the couple founded their gallery Geary Contemporary. ey now represent 13 emerging and mid-career artists working in a variety of media and organize a half dozen exhibitions in their art space in Manhattan's Soho each year. ough Dolly loves working with artists, art making was less of interest to her than other aspects of the art world. "My grandparents and parents collected paintings and drawings, and my mother was completing her Ph.D. in art history at the University of Chicago, so I would go with her to meet her professor or sit with her in the library and look at beautiful books of Renaissance painting," she recalled. Dolly's exposure to galleries came early too. "I would visit my mom when she worked at Richard Feigen Gallery and his booth at the big Chicago Art Expo at Navy Pier – and I loved that – especially seeing art from around the world." Geary Contemporary participates in that fair too, now called Expo Chicago, as well as others around the country. In addition to representing New York-based artists, the gallery takes a special interest in introducing artists from the Midwest to the New York art scene, including Christopher Kuhn, who was part of the Class of '95 from kindergarten through sixth grade and is now based in Los Angeles. "Chris and I reconnected through my stepmother, Judy Bross, who is the former chair of the board at Latin and a great friend of his family. My husband and I had a studio visit and fell in love with Chris's work." Dolly added, "It's very exciting to see how Latin continues to embrace and encourage the arts!" Laura van Straaten '86 attended Latin from kindergarten through 12th grade – minus her School Year Abroad in France junior year. After graduating from Bryn Mawr College and earning a master's degree in journalism from Columbia University, she spent more than two decades as an award-winning journalist for NBC, CNN and PBS and other media companies Since 2013 she has reported on contemporary art and culture from all over the world for e New York Times, e Hollywood Reporter, Departures, New York, WSJ Magazine and many other publications in the U.S. and abroad. She lives in Manhattan. "At Latin, I loved Adrienne Leslie's art class – I remember inking up actual dead fish to make prints on the paper. I also remember an incredible unit on cave art in sixth grade that linked up with what we were studying in history class." – Dolly Bross Geary '95 L M » W 33

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