For Immediate Release Maxwell, (408) 961-5841 January 11, 2012 dmaxwell@montalvoarts.

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Contact: Diane

Innovative Exhibition O Great Reverie: Montalvo 1912-2012 Inaugurates Montalvos Centennial Year
Timeline exhibition provides personal, creative interpretation of Montalvos 100-year history

Above, Left: Villa Montalvo under construction, 1912, George Doeltz. Montalvo Arts Center Archive. Photograph Collection; Center: Women, conceptual design schematic for OGreat Reverie, 2011. The diagram represents the past meeting the present in a new form; Right: View of Montalvos Historic Villa, 1985, photographer unknown. Montalvo Arts Center Archive. Photograph Collection.

SARATOGA, Calif. To inaugurate the centennial year of the building of its historic villa, the Montalvo Arts Center presents an unconventional timeline exhibition entitled O Great Reverie: Montalvo 1912-2012. The exhibition, which is organized by Associate Curator Donna Conwell and Montalvo Design Fellows Womenthe creative partnership of Los Angeles-based designers Scott Barry and Neil Doshiwill open on Friday, January 27 and run through Sunday, May 13.

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For O Great Reverie, Conwell, Barry, and Doshi have taken what they collectively describe as an idiosyncratic approach: they have opted against a standard linear chronology, and forgone efforts to generate an exhaustive account of Montalvos history. Instead, they have focused on incorporating the diverse voices of those who have experienced and worked at Montalvo over the years, and hope to demonstrate that creating the history of a place is always based on personal selections and interpretations, filtered through the prism of the present moment. To this end, they have organized the exhibition materialsincluding historical documents, letters, ephemera, photographs, audio and visual footage, and rare books all drawn from the holdings of the Montalvo Archive and Library and the Bancroft Library at the University of California, Berkeleyaround four core themes, emphasizing Montalvos multiple overlapping histories, focusing on personal narratives, and demonstrating the associative relationships among the past, present, and future: LANDSCAPE, exploring the way in which Montalvos buildings and grounds have transformed over time; PUBLICS, examining how different groups of people who have visited Montalvo over the years have interacted with it in their own unique ways; COMMUNITIES, discussing the various circles of volunteers, artists-in-residence, and staff members who have actively shaped Montalvos evolution; and PRESERVATION, asking important philosophical questions about the limits and legitimacy of historical restoration. Barry and Doshi have conceived of and constructed every aspect of the exhibtion, including a modular display furniture system, audio-video viewing kiosks and reading stations, and didactic texts in the form of take-away broadsides. The designers have also crafted a series of subtle sculptural interventions in the gallery space and several creative works that respond to Montalvo and its histories. Included among these will be a a large scale photograph of one of the classical sculptures on the Montalvo grounds and a 100-page guestbook, in which visitors are invited to participate in the telling of Montalvos histories by recording their recollections and experiences.
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Women are the inaugural recipients of the Design Fellowship awarded by the prestigious Sally and Don Lucas Artists Residency Program at the Montalvo Arts Center. With this fellowship, Montalvo further strengthens its commitment to supporting creativity across a broad range of disciplines by fostering and advancing innovative design practice. For the first weekend of the exhibitions run, a series of special events, lectures, and workshops are planned, all engaging with key aspects of Montalvos past and present: Friday, January 27 6-7 pm: Final Friday Presentation led by Composer-in-Residence George Tsontakis Historic Villa, free admission Composer George Tsontakis will discuss the new collaborative piece he is developing in response to Going Forth By Day, a video work by Bill Viola. 7-9:30 pm: Opening Reception, OGreat Reverie: Montalvo 1912-2012 Project Space Gallery, free admission The public is invited to this preview of the exhibition, and to celebrate the beginning of Montalvos centennial year. Saturday, January 28 12-1 pm: Downward Dog Historic Villa, free admission Inspired by the yoga classes held in the Villa in the 1970s, Montalvo Arts Centers Director of Education, Ruth Mankin, hosts a drop-in yoga class. Space is limited. Please bring your own mat. 1-3 pm: Impressions Side Veranda, Historic Villa, free admission All ages are welcome on this afternoon ramble led by artist-educator Katie Bachler. Participants will experience place through their sense of touch and explore the textures of past and presentboth natural and manmadeby making rubbings and clay impressions of Montalvos buildings and grounds. 3-4 pm: Direct Criteria Spanish Courtyard, free admission Los Angeles-based performance group Direct Criteria will present a work exploring the themes of resourcefulness, DIY ethics, local knowledge, scale, duration, flexibility, and contingent relationships.
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4 pm: Nothing Burger Poets Walk Trailhead, free admission Led by artist Fiona Conner. Please wear attire appropriate for a lateafternoon hike. Also accompanying the exhibition is a conversation series called Chit-Chat Club, inspired by Senator Phelans participation in a San Francisco-based organization by the same name. Chit-Chat Club members met monthly for dinner followed by a presentation and discussion. The following talks will explore key topics central to Montalvos mission and plans for the future. Wednesday, March 7, 7-8:30 pm Sustaining Landscapes Phelan Library, free admission Montalvos Garden Curator, Delmar McComb, and Director of the Lucas Artists Residency Program, Kelly Sicat, discuss the unique challenges and opportunities involved in managing and cultivating Montalvos grounds. Wednesday, April 11, 7-8:30 pm Choreographing Space Phelan Library, free admission Director for Public Art at San Joses Office of Cultural Affairs, Barbara Goldstein, and Pamela Z, composer, performer, and sound artist, will speak about plans for developing a contemporary art program at Montalvo that integrates its topography and landscape. Wednesday, May 9, 7-8:30 pm Undesigning Histories Phelan Library, free admission Lucas Artists Residency Design Fellows Scott Barry and Neil Doshi, and Montalvo Associate Curator Donna Conwell will discuss O Great Reverie and the current trend among designers who are beginning to approach their work as a conceptual practice rather than a service industry. California College of Arts Adjunct Professor of Graphic Design David Hisaya Asari will moderate. The San Jose Mercury News is the exclusive print media sponsor of Montalvo Arts Center's Centennial. Press images are available for download at http://montalvoarts.org/press/image_bank/. ###
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About Lucas Artists Residency Program Lucas Artists Residency Program fosters a community of highly motivated, talented, creative, and critical minds from a range of disciplines and geographical areas. Montalvos artist residency is the third oldest in the United States, and the oldest west of the Mississippi. After a temporary closure in 1999 for extensive rennovations, the Lucas Artists Residency Program reopened in 2004 as one of the largest and most advanced sets of facilities specifically built as an artist residency for an international, multi-disciplinary program of artists and scholars. The state-of-the-art center consists of ten live/work studios and a commons building designed by six teams of renowned architects and artists, located on 10 acres of land within a 175-acre park. About Montalvo Arts Center Montalvo Arts Center is an oasis of culture and nature whose mission is to create and present arts of all types, nurture artists, and use our historic Villa, buildings, and grounds in innovative ways that engage people in the creative process. Located in Silicon Valley's Saratoga hills, Montalvo Arts Center occupies a Mediterranean-style villa on 175 stunning acres, including an international artist residency program. Senator James Phelan left the historic villa and grounds to the people of California for the encouragement of art, music, literature and architecture. In January 2005, the organization changed its name from Montalvo to Montalvo Arts Center to commemorate its 75th year as an arts center and to better communicate its mission to expanding local, national and international audiences. In 2012, Montalvo celebrates its centennial year. For more information about Montalvo Arts Center, call (408) 961-5800 or visit http://www.montalvoarts.org/

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