Three School of Art Graduates Make Forbes' 30 Under 30 List

POSTED ON: January 8, 2014

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Lucien Smith, Torey Thornton & Travess Smalley. Photos courtesy of the artists

Lucien Smith, Torey Thornton & Travess Smalley. Photos courtesy of the artists

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'As Good as it Gets' (2012) by Lucien Smith; Acrylic on unprimed canvas, 108 x 84 inches

'As Good as it Gets' (2012) by Lucien Smith; Acrylic on unprimed canvas, 108 x 84 inches

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'Staghorns Gotta Eat Too' (2013) by Torey Thornton; Acrylic, glue, graphite, and collage on slatted panel, 64 x 63.5 inches

'Staghorns Gotta Eat Too' (2013) by Torey Thornton; Acrylic, glue, graphite, and collage on slatted panel, 64 x 63.5 inches

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'Computer Graphic on Vinyl, Vector Weave, Scan #4' (2013) by Travess Smalley; UV print on stretched vinyl, 96 x 70 in.

'Computer Graphic on Vinyl, Vector Weave, Scan #4' (2013) by Travess Smalley; UV print on stretched vinyl, 96 x 70 in.

Three School of Art graduates are featured in Forbes magazine's third annual 30 Under 30 list highlighting "the brightest stars in 15 different fields under the age of 30," according to the magazine. Travess Smalley (A'10), Lucien Smith (A'11) and Torey Thornton (A'12) all appear on the "Art and Style" list in the January 20th issue. The list was selected by a panel comprised of Jeffrey Deitch, the former director of the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art, Peter Brant, a contemporary art collector who leads Brant Publications, publisher of Art in America, and by fashion designer Isaac Mizrahi.

Lucien Smith appears on the list for the second year in a row, and was also featured in the Styles section of the New York Times in September of last year. Forbes describes his work as, "surprisingly diverse, from a lush sunset over a purple and gold seascape to layered oil paint on canvas with detritus like newspaper and aluminum pie plates." Torey Thornton's work is characterized as "figurative, colorful, crude still lifes that mix painting and glued collage." Travess Smalley "blends computer graphics with physical collage-making."

  • Founded by inventor, industrialist and philanthropist Peter Cooper in 1859, The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art offers education in art, architecture and engineering, as well as courses in the humanities and social sciences.

  • “My feelings, my desires, my hopes, embrace humanity throughout the world,” Peter Cooper proclaimed in a speech in 1853. He looked forward to a time when, “knowledge shall cover the earth as waters cover the great deep.”

  • From its beginnings, Cooper Union was a unique institution, dedicated to founder Peter Cooper's proposition that education is the key not only to personal prosperity but to civic virtue and harmony.

  • Peter Cooper wanted his graduates to acquire the technical mastery and entrepreneurial skills, enrich their intellects and spark their creativity, and develop a sense of social justice that would translate into action.