BY: Hanna Nakano
The great pioneer of conceptual art, Stephen Kaltenbach, brings two full scale installation exhibits to the John Natsoulas Gallery in Davis this Fall.
Kaltenbach, a UC Davis alum, was propelled to fame as a conceptual artist when SFMOMA and the Whitney Museum of American Art built his room designs in the late 1960s. Now, almost 60-years later, the Natsoulas Gallery is bringing his work back to life.
“Within the last 20 years, critics and art historians across the globe have re-recognized Kaltenbach’s significance as a pioneer of Conceptual art,” exhibition co-curator Sarah Poisner told The Dirt.
Kaltenbach was a graduate student at UC Davis studying ceramics and painting at the height of the Funk Art movement. During his rise in the late 1960s, he showed in some of the most groundbreaking gallery exhibitions of the time. By the 70s, he had relocated back to California.
This exhibition blends past and present—a full-scale construction of a room alteration akin to those of the 1960s will stand alongside an entirely original, site-specific, multimedia installation.
““This is only the third occasion one of these Room Alterations has been built to scale; the first two were at SFMOMA and the Whitney Museum,” Poisner said. We are pleased to offer our visitors the opportunity to enter and experience one of Kaltenbach’s acclaimed rooms for the first time in over 50 years.”
The full-room installation offers the opportunity to walk through the third floor of the Gallery to participate in an immersive experience of color and light.
A colorful floor-to-ceiling assemblage installation featuring extensive drapery, in collaboration with fellow Davis artist Seongmin Yoo, will compliment Kaltenbach’s minimalist design.
The John Natsoulas Gallery will also be publishing a book to accompany this exhibition.
“We are very excited that it will include many of the never-before-published ceramics and paintings previously shown at the John Natsoulas Gallery,” Poisner said.
Stephen Kaltenbach: Alchemy of Space and Place opens August 30 and runs through September 30, with an opening reception on September 2 at 7 p.m. featuring free music & refreshments.
(Photo shows construction of exhibit)
