Photograph courtesy of Deborah Oropallo
'Oropallo on Paper 1990- 2001' is the first exhibit at the Gallery at Montalvo since the venue's renovation.
Montalvo debuts new gallery, exhibit
By Shari Kaplan
Like a hibernating animal, the Gallery at Montalvo has been out of sight for several months this winter. Unlike the animals who emerge from their winter respite little changed, however, the gallery will look very different when it reopens this February, thanks to the major renovations that have gone on behind its closed doors.
"It is a facelift embodying a wide range of improvements," is how visual arts director Michele Rowe-Shields describes the changes, one of the most important being climate and temperature control.
"In the past, the gallery had no air conditioning. Now we do--which is so important for protecting artwork from huge fluctuations in temperature," she says.
Other improvements were removal of the rear doors, which had dry rot; new drywall on the walls and ceiling; new and more efficient lighting; and sanding and lightening of the hardwood floor. Montalvo sets aside money for the repair or improvement of the facilities each year, which is where funding for this project came from, according to Rowe-Shields.
Underscoring the gallery's aesthetic and functional facelift is its first installation of 2002, titled "Oropallo on Paper 1990-2001." It consists of 17 works on paper by Berkeley artist Deborah Oropallo, who holds bachelor's and master's degrees in fine arts. This exhibit, Rowe-Shields says, is a complement to Oropallo's larger, mid-career retrospective now on display at the San Jose Museum of Art.
'Oropallo on Paper' features prime examples of [Deborah's] audacious, witty and inventive works on paper as they have evolved over the last 10 years. The survey represents two complete bodies of work and the first part of a third," Rowe-Shields explains.
While viewers may notice themes running through some of the work, Oropallo is far from predictable when it comes to her choices of media. In the small gallery alone, the collection includes monotypes, etchings, woodcuts, silkscreens and, most recently, digital prints.
Before starting a family in the mid-1990s, many of Oropallo's works dealt with themes of abduction, conflict, satire and cultural commentary. Among her works reflecting this are Red, Bugle and Fall From Grace.
After that period, Oropallo's next body of work became dominated by the more prosaic--but no less interesting--elements of daily life, which can be seen in pieces such as Rails, Kitchen Aid and Coupon. Oropallo's most recent works, such as the life-size industrial tanks in Gasses, are computer-manipulated images digitally produced on an Iris printer. Often they are overlaid with screened layers of lacy patterns.
'Oropallo on Paper 1990-2001' runs Feb. 3 through April 7. An artist's reception with refreshments takes place Feb. 3 from 2 to 4 p.m., including a talk by Oropallo at 2:30 p.m. Admission is free. For more information, call 408.961.5813 or visit www.villamontalvo.org on the Internet.
Saratoga, California Since 1955
