Los Gatos Weekly-Times

Photograph by George Sakkestad

Artist Barbara Leventhal-Stern talks about her "Bird in Hand" painting on exhibit at Villa Montalvo.

Exhibit at Montalvo tells a story

By Shari Kaplan

Like the bards and minstrels of past centuries who used music and song to illustrate their many stories, professional artist Barbara Leventhal-Stern turns to canvas, oil paints and woodcuts to illustrate the tales she loves to share.

The latest of her dozens of exhibits, which have appeared throughout the United States and in several foreign countries since 1976, is Telling a Story, on display through June 29 at The Gallery at Villa Montalvo in Saratoga.

"At the core of my work is the concept of relationships. Because I am, at heart, a storyteller, my paintings take the form of visual narratives," Leventhal-Stern explains in her artist statement.

"My [works] constitute a visual anthology of stories. The assembled works speak to the intricate connection between animals, man and nature; I hope to invoke a sense of shared community between humans and all other species."

When she begins to paint, the Palo Alto resident says, she often retreats to the solace of her studio, puts on music and slowly finds herself in a dreamlike state. She usually does not think about the specifics of what she is painting until she is finished; at that time, she often notices significant images reflecting metaphors or universal symbols. Sometimes images intrude into her consciousness that she just has to paint, she says, and she likes that these are often archetypes everyone can relate to.

Animals--especially birds and the moon--are two images that frequent Leventhal-Stern's paintings, which is no accident.

"Animals are guardians of the part of our humanity that represents the best of us. They're able to relax in a way we've often lost nowadays," she explains. She is particularly inspired by birds, she says, because they are symbolic of freedom and transcendence in almost every culture.

In her painting "Empty Nest," for example, two large swallows fly away off the canvas, while a vine with bright, trumpet-shaped flowers twines among the nests and their treelike supports.

On a figurative level, Leventhal-Stern says the birds remind her of her two sons and the vine of herself when the time comes for both boys to leave home. She chose swallows because they are known for their regular migrations away from and then back to their homes.

The moon lends its ethereal presence to "The Vigil," in which a flaxen-haired boy sits quietly visiting with animals--mostly birds. Representative of her younger son during a somewhat vulnerable stage in his life, the boy in the painting and his animal friends are illumined by the crescent moon glowing in one corner of the canvas. His countenance is an interesting combination of wonderment, peace and solemnity.

To Leventhal-Stern, the moon represents hope, the cyclical nature of things and an aspect of past times when holidays were based more on moon phases and seasonal events.

"The whole idea of the lunar calendar is much more primitive; it relates to nature," she says. As for her son, she adds: "He loves nature and birds. The natural world is more comfortable for him, where the animals become his friends."

Other paintings done in engaging colors with symbolic imagery--which always includes animals--are "The Gift," "Love Extinguishes the Pain," "Trial by Fire" and "Bird in Hand."

Additionally, Leventhal-Stern has created "Printing by Moonlight," a suite of eight individually titled black-and-white woodcuts that feature nature, animals or both. The moonlit name comes from Leventhal-Stern's nighttimes spent carving the woodcuts in her garage, often with only pet guinea pigs for company.

To further add to the storytelling mood, a large purple circle--The Story Circle--is painted on the floor of the gallery. Strewn with fragrant wildflowers, the circle was danced around by members of the exotic Abhinaya dance troupe during a reception on May 15. Throughout the length of the exhibit, the gallery will host hundreds of schoolchildren to view the art and experience stories told within the circle by guest storyteller Olga Loya.

"Telling a Story" shows through June 29. The Gallery, located at 15400 Montalvo Road, is open Wednesday through Friday, 12:30-4 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday, 11 a.m.-4 p.m., before Montalvo concerts and during intermissions. For more information, call 961-5813.

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