From textured fall photography to bold new illustrations, these five SVA artists and designers bring the season’s warmth, creativity, and spirit of reflection to your feed.
As autumn deepens and the fall 2025 semester nears its close, SVA’s creative community continues to find new ways to capture the season’s reflective energy. From evocative photography to textured illustration and experimental fine art, these five artists remind us that inspiration doesn’t fade with the light—it shifts, adapts, and finds form in unexpected places.
1. Joyce Lee (BFA 2002 Photography)
Joyce Lee is a photographer and director based in Southern California whose work captures the subtleties of light, texture, and human presence. Her images reveal emotion through composition and timing rather than spectacle—each frame thoughtful, grounded, and quietly powerful. Follow her at @joyceleephoto.
2. Shreya Gupta (MFA 2017 Illustration as Visual Essay)
Originally from India and now based in New York City, Shreya Gupta is an illustrator and designer whose work brings narrative clarity and visual elegance to every project. Her Instagram highlights her published book illustrations, editorial collaborations, and commercial commissions—each piece characterized by refined composition and expressive detail. Follow her at @shreyaillustrations.
3. Natalya Balnova (MFA 2013 Illustration as Visual Essay)
Brooklyn-based illustrator and SVA faculty member Natalya Balnova combines bold composition with subtle humor and emotion. Her work often plays with pattern and repetition, turning familiar shapes into striking, unexpected images. The result is thoughtful, deliberate, and unmistakably her own. Follow her at @natalya_balnova.
4. Christopher Reiger (MFA 2002 Fine Arts)
Originally from the Delmarva Peninsula and now in Northern California, Christopher Reiger is a visual artist and writer who is fascinated by natural history, conservation, and ecology. His feed reflects that focus, offering an inside look at his studio practice and the ideas that shape it—color studies, process shots, and works that bridge science and storytelling. Follow him at @christopherreiger.
5. Nick Faestel (BFA Fine Arts)
Nick Faestel is a visual artist, photographer, and SVA student whose work focuses on fine-art printing and landscapes, atmosphere, and a sense of wonder in nature. His Instagram feed leans toward striking black-and-white landscapes—images that balance precision with curiosity and an eye for the unexpected. Follow him at @nickfaestel.