Features

One of the living treasures of Berkeley is the Kala Art Institute. Now that this facility is over 30 years old, an exhibition of about 80 works by 71 artists can be seen at the Artists Gallery of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art at Fort Mason acros s the bay. The exhibition stresses works on paper, created in a very wide range of processes, from woodcut and etching to digital photography, and includes sculpture, books and video works. It presents an overview of some of Kala’s multifarious activities. 

In 1974 two adventurous young artists, Archana Horsting and Yuzo Nakano, met at a famous international workshop and forum of ideas in Paris. They decided that it was the right time to start a community workshop, which would be based on the production of graphics. First located in a garage in San Francisco, they came to Berkeley where they opened the institute in the former Heinz ketchup factory in 1979. 

Kala became a place where artists meet and work and exchange ideas. In addition to prints, artists at Kala have made work in all imaginable new and old media. Selected artists from this country and abroad are awarded fellowship residencies. The international flavor is important. Kala has also organized exhibitions in Italy, Switzerland and even, in 200 3, in Uzbekistan. Catalogues are produced. Kala has also been in the forefront of sponsoring performance art in the San Francisco Bay Area. Its 8,500-square-foot studio in Berkeley includes an art library, an extensive print archive and a consignment sale s department. Most importantly, it never closes for the artists who come there to learn, experiment and take risks toward new ventures. 

The exhibition at Fort Mason gives visitors an idea of the creative energy which exemplifies Kala. This show will be followed by a large retrospective of work from over 30 years of Kala’s work, which will be accompanied by a book, now under consideration by Berkeley’s favorite publisher, Malcolm Margolin of Heyday Books, a house which is also 30-something years old. 

On Wednesday, July 13, Archana Horsting will give a gallery talk and present a brief history of Kala, at Building A at Fort Mason, where the exhibition will continue until July 29. An anniversary dinner reception and silent auction will be held at 5:30 p.m. July 17 at Green’s Restaurant, Fort Mason, Building A, San Francisco. Tickets are $150; call 549-2977 to reserve tickets.