Pianist duo Yuval Admony and Tami Kanazawa are among the Villa Montalvo artist residents participating in Artists' Open Studios.

Montalvo's artist residents give readings, studio tours

By Shari Kaplan

It's no surprise that spring is among the handful of times each year that Villa Montalvo invites the public to its free Artists' Open Studios events. Just as the upcoming season is one that promotes new beginnings in the natural world, Montalvo's Artist Residency program promotes similar beginnings in the world of creative arts.

On March 19, the five current residents--visual artists Diana Cherbuliez and Margaret Stratton, musicians Tami Kanazawa and Yuval Admony and writers Katherine Swiggart and John D'Agata--will interact with the public throughout the afternoon.

Cherbuliez, a resident of Maine, did undergraduate work at Simon's Rock of Bard College and the San Francisco Art Institute, then earned a master's of fine arts in sculpture from New York's Alfred University. Among the characteristics of her three-dimensional art is the use of fairy tales and myths to present complex themes of dichotomy, transformation, desire and consequence. Her pieces emphasize the conceptual qualities of their materials, as well as building a relationship with the viewer.

Video and photographic work exploring the relationship among history, society and aesthetics is the focus of Stratton's work. She produces films on topics including nuclear culture, the family and the prison system; her most recent work presents black-and-white photographs of abandoned prisons. While at Montalvo, the Iowan is working on Sentencing the Sentence, a video and photo/text project that examines how media images of penitentiary life have become a metaphor of how society views criminality.

Kanazawa and Admony formed their piano duo in 1996, after meeting at chamber music festivals in Eastern Europe. Their residency at Canada's Banff Centre for the Arts led to a CD project and an invitation to perform at the Pacific Rim Festival in Canada.

Kanazawa is a graduate of the Conservatoire National Superieur de Musique de Paris. Admony holds a master's degree from the Tel Aviv Music Academy in Israel and a diploma from the Royal Academy of Music in London. Before arriving at Montalvo, the duo won first place in the 2000 Tokyo International Piano Duo Competition. While in residence, they are working on a two-piano repertoire that includes double concertos and pieces by Israeli composers, along with a light-classic program for the Education Unit of the Israeli Army.

Oregonian Swiggart holds a bachelor's degree from Cornell University and a master's of fine arts from the Iowa Writers' Workshop. The holder of several art-related grants and fellowships, she also has published poems in many literary publications. She is working on her first poetry manuscript, Early Reprisals, during her stay at Montalvo.

D'Agata's first essay collection, This Flat Earth, is scheduled for publication in January 2001. He also serves as the nonfiction editor for The Seneca Review, is editing an anthology of American essays and has had works published in various literary journals. As a Montalvo resident, he is putting the finishing touches on This Flat Earth and is continuing work on his second book, an allegorical natural history of Florida.

Cherbuliez and Stratton will open their studios between noon and 2 p.m. Kanazawa and Admony will perform and Swiggart and D'Agata will read between 2 and 3 p.m. in the Carriage House Theatre. A reception for all the artists follows at 3 p.m.

The international, multidisciplinary Artist Residency Program brings up to 35 artists per year to Montalvo to participate in a working residency for one to three months in a setting that offers privacy, creative reflection, inter-artist dialogue and, during open studios, a chance to meet the public. The program is funded through the Friends of Montalvo. Villa Montalvo is at 15400 Montalvo Road, Saratoga. For more information, call 408.961.5818.

Police Report

DeCinzo: Digital Los Gatos

Photo: Leigh High School presents 'Guys & Dolls'

Photo: SJCMT presents 'Evita'

Picture From the Past

Sports Briefs

Great Race features close finish

Great Race results

LGHS rebuilds baseball facility

Wildcats take first in Los Angeles Indoor Invitational

Leigh boys fall in CCS semi's