Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem Museum

Landscape View of Stephen Kaltenbach's The Beginning and The End 

On February 6, 2020, I visited and viewed Stephen Kaltenbach's exhibition called The Beginning and the End at the Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem Museum at UC Davis.  Before the lecture with Leonardo Drew, a friend and I made our way around the gallery to explore and take a look at the open exhibits from new and local artists from Northern California.Walking in the Shrem Museum, I noticed the open space the space exhibited. The entrance opens up to a community center held for lectures with chairs and an information booth center. To go into the gallery, one must enter a glass door that eventually shows you the artworks and exhibits. 

View of Stephen Kaltenbach's Exhibition: The Beginning and The End 

Local and renowned artist Stephen Kaltenbach graduated from UC Davis in 1967 with a masters degree in art and moved to New York. At the peak of his career, he withdrew from New York to the Central Valley, eventually abandoning coneptual artwork in favor of traditional modes of art making. 

The main exhibition examines Kaltenbach's work artwork from the 1960s and parts of his post-1970 practice that also coincides with the the fifteenth anniversary of his departure from New York. Reading some of the descriptions on his work, a concept that mergers from his long career is the play with time itself. He plays with disappearance, delay exploring how artistic careers and legends are formed through time. Kaltenbach's connection with time is how everything eventually becomes anonymous through years of time. 

Time Capsule for Barbara Rose, 1967-68/2016

I found these artworks to be a comment on Kaltenbach's use and play of time is seen through the minimal emphasize. The target audience he wanted this piece to be for was the collector, curator, the writers, the historians and himself. Kaltenbach was interested in maintaining the viewers imagination in the dynamics of these works, often questioning whether it would hold interest if it was opened or not.