Stephen Kaltenbach: Teach Art

California State University Sacramento: University Library Gallery

February 6 to May 18, 2024

Stephen Kaltenbach

Entranceway to Stephen Kaltenbach's 'Teach Art' 

Conceptualist artist Stephen Kaltenbach's show Teach Art encapsulates many of the artist's processes of creation. Based on his thirty years of teaching at California State University Sacramento, the exhibit showcases Kaltenbach's work made or conceptualized during his time as a professor. 

Entryway to The Window (1981) installation with Fire, n.d. (left), Everything is Finally Anonymous doormat and Pattern Studies from the Crocker Museum Archive (Right)

Many of these works come from the artist's personal collection, while others were loaned from the Crocker Art Museum and other patrons. These works, though finished in their own merit, are processes in Kaltenbach's career as an artist and professor. They provide insight into his time spent in this city and on this campus, something that is fortunately thought out for this location. 

Model for Peace, 2005, Plaster, Stephen Kaltenbach

Model for Peace (2005) and Veiled Head (2002) seem to present a basis for Kaltenbach's public artworks and embody the finished project's stylization. Seeing the model for Kaltenbach's public artwork, Peace (2006) which is located in Capitol Mall, was really cool. Veiled Head's sibling Matter Contemplates Spirit (2004) is something that I've passed by many times as it is currently on public display in Folsom, Sacramento.

Model for Pattern of Portrait of my Father, Lucite, Stephen Kaltenbach

Finding out that Kaltenbach created a lucite model just for the patterning in his famous piece Portrait of my Father (1972-1979) and seeing all the photographs, sketches, and planning that it took to achieve such a huge project was really interesting to learn more about. I admire the amount of preparation, time, and thought that the artist dedicates to his work. These steps seem painstaking, but the resulting reactions, inclusive of my own, prove that there is value in his creative process. 

Installation view of Teach Art

Some of Kaltenbach's famous time capsules were on display in the exhibition underneath a display of projected photographs contributed by the artist and his wife that had been taken during the artist's earlier years. Kaltenbach even contributed his latest work, Code Works (2024) to this show. This piece, or pieces, are like a puzzle. There is a concealed message that, similar to his Time Capsules, only the artist may truly know. 

Code Works: Slow Love (2024), True Love (2024), Wisdom (2024)

Veiled Head, c.2002/2024, concrete, acrylic, Stephen Kaltenbach

Installation View of Teach Art

Pattern Studies from the Crocker Art Museum

Photograph of Stephen Kaltenbach with students in front of the original The Window (1981) installation

My favorite work in this exhibition is the installation piece titled The Window (1981). This recreation of the original Window required the gallery to construct an entirely addition room in the gallery space to accommodate the piece. 

Inside view of the Window Installation

When visitors walk into this room, it is at first unassuming, though something may feel off. It's not until visitors look into the 'mirror' do they realize that they have no reflection in this room. I've noticed that reaction times for the 'gotcha' moment seem to vary from person to person, as do reactions. Some fully scream at the sight.

Inside view of the Window Installation

Inside view of the Window Installation

Minute details in the Window installation piece really sell the illusion of the mirror image. It is pulled off by placing two rooms next to each other that contain the exact same contents as each other. Even the clocks in each room display the same time. The curator of this show, Kelly Lindner, worked with Stephen Kaltenbach to ensure that the live flowers on display were identical to one another, even going so far as to leave a single petal beside the wilting flowers. The lights casting shadow on the baby cradle are also angled to match on either side. 

Inside view of the Window Installation

Being able to see this installation and these works in person was an exciting opportunity. As cool as it was to see the Time Capsules I had read about, view images of the past, as well as see his new conceptual piece, The Window holds my favoritism.