Exhibit's focus is wood
By Shari Kaplan
The infinite variety of nature, the warmth of earth-centered spirituality and the simplicity of Zen Buddhism are the influences that helped guide San Francisco artist Jeff King when installing his latest exhibition and in crafting the works of art.
The collection of wooden sculptures and wood-block prints is on display through Oct. 22, at The Gallery at Villa Montalvo, 15400 Montalvo Road in Saratoga. A former art critic and teacher of art, sculpture and art history, King currently does art, design and fabrication work for Aesthetic Solutions. And, of course, he makes his own art.
The majority of King's works at Montalvo are made of wood. Not content with simply that description, King labels them with their distinct identities, such as red oak, white pine, poplar, eucalyptus and cottonwood.
He says he became interested in the use of wood after the winter storms of 1997, which blew down hundreds of trees in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. All of the trees were moved to one location, which he named "the graveyard."
"This place was fantastic for me; it became my playground over the next year or so," he reveals in his artist's statement. "All the trees, in all their forms--as logs, bark, stumps, chunks and chips--were tremendously inspiring for me."
He salvaged some of that wood, giving it a new life in a creative medium. He made his first prints by painting over stumps and cross-sections of wood and transferring their intricate patterns, stamp-like, onto paper. Sakura Ki #2 and CW Mechanics are some of his more recent examples of this method.
Even sawdust has its place, as in Wooden Stars #1, in which he inked a block of wood, tossed sawdust on its surface and then pressed the block onto a long sheet of paper. The result is an interplay of light and dark specks that resembles the way the universe might look from space.
The most eye-catching of King's works are the large-scale wooden sculptures. Blossom and Four Balls, arranged just outside the gallery's doors, consists of a large circle of richly burnished red oak chips. The differently sized chips overlap neatly to form a "blossom" made of wood. Sitting nearby, like a handful of marbles tossed by a giant, are four balls of the same wood.
Also engaging is Twenty-Eight Boxes--a display of open cubes crafted from softly fragrant eucalyptus. Some are stacked six and five boxes high, although most are only singles, doubles or triples. Although they look rickety and precarious from a distance, they are not as weak as they appear.
The complex simplicity in much of his art is related to the two years he worked in Japan, where he was invited by Paul Mullowney and Cathie Byrne, caretakers of a Zen temple called Tokugenji. He collected some of his wood from the surrounding forests, and was also inspired by the temple buildings and grounds.
"Tokugenji reinforced my work as it leans toward the formal, simple and clear with an interest in the beauty that arises from accidents; traits that I see as primary to Japanese art," he explains. "I also believe in the Zen notion of 'first thought; best thought.' "
Gallery hours are Wednesday through Sunday, 1 to 4 p.m. For more information, call 408.961.5813, or visit www.villamontalvo.org on the Internet.
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Los Gatos, California Since 1881
The Jeff King exhibit at The Gallery at Villa Montalvo includes 'Blossom and Four Balls,' made of red oak.
