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Photograph by Kathy De La Torre
Rachelle Kaldani's clay sculpture, 'Autumn Whispers,' won first place in the three-dimensional category.
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Broad spectrum of art fills the Tait
By Shari Kaplan
In celebration of half a century of juried art shows, the Los Gatos Art Association has outdone itself this year by filling the Los Gatos Museum of Art and Natural History with works of more than 120 artists from throughout Northern California, whose mediums vary widely.
The 50th annual Open Juried Show, which runs through May 28, was judged by Moises Roizen, who teaches art history, painting, design and drawing at West Valley College in Saratoga and Gavilan College in Morgan Hill. He is also a professional artist, who works primarily in abstract forms. This year's show is divided into six categories, with a good representation in each: oil and acrylic, watercolor, pastel and pencil, photography, three-dimensional and other/mixed media.
Many of the artists display their creativity when interpreting the wonders of Nature on canvas. These include the windswept watercolor Veteran Cypress, Point Lobos by Saratogan Dan Tellep; Hillside Color, a bright vision of orange poppies and indigo lupines by Los Gatan Kathleen Self; Fremont's Oak, a gold-and-green pastel image of a stately sentinel by Deborah Matlack of San Jose and Columbines, a close look at the beautiful bi-colored flowers painted on silk by Tamara English of San Jose.
Yosemite National Park is a favorite among many outdoor enthusiasts, as in Saratogan Kay Duffy's watercolor-and-gouache Yosemite Milkweed, in which Half Dome looms in the background; a quiet autumn scene in pastels, Lights and Shadows at Yosemite, by Marta Szoboszlay of San Jose; and Vernal Falls, an oil painting by Los Altan Robert B. Grady, who renders details with such clarity that viewers can see the individual leaves of the surrounding forest's trees.
Other pieces require more of the viewer's time in both observing and interpreting. One is Valley of Heart's Delight, a collage by Santa Cruz Mountains resident Kathleen Russ. The piece makes a cohesive whole from newspaper clippings and photos of old Los Gatos and the orchards that once gave Santa Clara Valley its delightful nickname. Old locks and keys are glued here and there, as is one symbol of the Valley's current money-maker: a computer chip. Beneath the collage, whose soft, warm shades add to its reliquary quality, is a framed copy of Valley of Heart's Delight, a poem by Los Gatan W. Drummond-Norien.
Los Gatan Nancy Martin also proves a picture is worth many words with her photographs She Buddha Child and Soul's Feast. The former shows a loving mother holding her infant as three older children look on from the background, while the latter captures old hands pouring tea into the waiting cup held by a young pair of hands. Reflected in the teapot is a tender scene of three generations taking tea: the relationship appears to be that of an older woman, her daughter and her granddaughters. Both photos include handwritten poetic, flowing sentences that reflect the thoughts of this very thoughtful photographer.
The Los Gatos Museum of Art and Natural History is at 4 Tait Ave. Hours are noon to 4 p.m., Wednesday through Sunday. The list of winners is available here.
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Los Gatos, California Since 1881
