Tracey Adams trained concurrently as a conductor and painter. Because of her musical training, she uses visual intervals and patterns in her work which she approaches with the physicality of musical performance and often explores this during a particular series. Adams’ lifelong interests in music, science, art and mathematics are constantly woven and re-woven into her paintings and works on paper. Her works are inspired by intersections drawn between contradictory ideas, like the organic and the geometric. In this, Adams attempts to create environments that she strives to find within herself which represent the internal worlds she externalizes and shares with her viewers.  

A 2016 recipient of a Pollock-Krasner Foundation Award, Adams has been an exhibiting artist for over 35 years. She has participated in over 175 solo and group exhibitions nationally and internationally, including solo exhibitions at the Monterey Museum of Art, Fresno Art Museum and the Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History. Adams’s paintings are also included in the permanent collections numerous museums in the Western U.S.  

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Among his artistic repertoire, David Kimball Anderson is a self taught oxy-acetylene welder and metal sculptor. Drawing on a lifelong attraction toward bronze and steel - whether worked to a brilliant luster or left to rust, old and abandoned - he creates works that are both straightforward and layered with meaning. Anderson allows the viewer to make their own connections to both the apparent and implied intuitive experiences. Nature inspires him very much and his subject matter shifts seamlessly between organic forms, nostalgia, emotion and time.   

Anderson has been a practicing studio artist since 1969 and continues to exhibit regularly both nationally and internationally. His work is also held in public and private collections worldwide.  Anderson is the recipient of three National Endowment for the Arts Individual Fellowships, a Pollack-Krasner Foundation Grant, a John Michael Kohler Arts in Industry Residency Grant and he was the sole recipient of the SECA Award from the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art in 1973.

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This animation celluloid, inscribed by Walt Disney, was gifted by him to William “Billy” Jones of Billy Jones Wildcat Railroad, located in Oak Meadow Park. The two initially became acquainted through their shared love of steam engines. Disney tried to purchase the Wildcat Railroad engine to use at Disneyland, but Jones declined in favor of keeping the attraction within the Los Gatos community. They remained good friends, making frequent trips to visit one another. Jones was invited to conduct the Disneyland Railroad on its maiden voyage on the theme park’s opening day. According to Jones’ grandchildren, Disney was the only person to refer to him as “Casey” Jones, the same name of the titular protagonist of “The Brave Engineer.”

Unknown Photographer (Southern Pacific Company)

“Toy trains that run smoothly at Christmas sometimes need repairs later on. Here, little Donald Lyons of San Francisco, California, is shown getting expert advice from Billy Jones, Southern Pacific locomotive engineer.” This photograph is one of a series taken by an unidentified Southern Pacific Company photographer. Another photograph from this series was featured on the cover of a 1939 volume of The Railroad Journal.  

William “Billy” Jones ran the “Wildcat Railroad” on his ranch in Los Gatos, which he did free of charge, accepting donations as his only form of payment. Children and families from all over the valley enjoyed experiencing the thrill of riding behind a real steam engine. Jones was also an active member in the community and involved himself in a number of charitable organizations. He would often donate to various children’s hospitals, orphanages and special-interest groups,but only on the condition he remained anonymous.

Billy passed away in January 1968, but his railroad continues to serve the Town of Los Gatos and the surrounding communities.  - Source: The Billy Jones Wildcat Railroad, Inc.

Andrea Borsuk is a local artist whose work explores the notions of time and destiny. A self-described storyteller, she tries “to allow the viewer to ‘walk’ through [her] work as if they are walking in some landscape or timeline of life.”  She states, “I am inspired by the natural world, by popular culture and by beautiful things... I usually find images in the newspaper that speak to me about human interaction and our moment in time."

Borsuk holds an MFA from Columbia University and a BA from UC Santa Cruz. She is an Art instructor at Cabrillo College and a visiting lecturer at the Oregon College of Art and Craft in Portland, Oregon, as well as the 2010/2011 recipient of the Rydell Visual Arts Fellowship. Her work has been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions at museums and galleries nationwide. Her work is also held in numerous private collections. 

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Stacey M. Carter’s paintings evoke shared memories of distant yet familiar eras, conjuring up lost or forgotten visions of time and humanity, and offer insight into the ever-changing urban environment through creative observation. She is known for her works of layered, mixed media compositions based on original photographs that are transformed using a unique combination of skilled printmaking and spontaneous expressionistic painting.

Carter is an accomplished visual artist with a 20-year career in fine art printmaking, fine art reproduction, and artists' book/catalogue printing. She received her BFA from Tyler School of Art at Temple University, Philadelphia in 1991. While at Temple University, she studied abroad in Rome, Italy from 1989 - 1990. After receiving her degree in 1991, Carter moved to San Francisco, where she currently lives and works. This piece, recently gifted to NUMU’s permanent collection, is a study for a larger piece (~7x14 ft) featured in NUMU’s inaugural exhibition Giants in the Sky: The Rise and Fall of Airships.

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Linda Christensen has always drawn inspiration and serenity from her natural surroundings, especially the coast. While her work is deeply personal, Christensen ultimately pays homage to the universality of human emotion. Her figures are often faceless or turned away, leaving their emotions expressed through less conspicuous elements like the interplay of warm color accents and cooler washes in oil which are integrated in painterly areas that are deliberately abstract and incomplete. More than merely observing the figure, the viewer is invited to sympathize with the subject. This self-portrait was painted specifically for NUMU’s 2016 exhibition More Than Your Selfie.

Christensen was born in Berkeley, and currently lives and works in Santa Cruz, California.

She received her art education at UC Santa Cruz where she obtained a Bachelor of Arts in 1985 and a Graduate Certificate in the following year.  Her work has been exhibited locally and nationwide at museums and art galleries such as: the Triton Museum of Art in Santa Clara; Winfield Gallery in Carmel; Sue Greenwood Fine Art in Laguna Beach; Gail Severn Gallery in Ketchum, Idaho; and J Cacciola Gallery in NYC, New York.

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“170 Pieces is inspired by pneumatocysts and the sea. Pneumatocysts are hollow, gas-filled membranes that act like buoys, lifting algae up from its anchor on the ocean floor. The floats enable algae to reach the light where photosynthesis can occur. Much of our oxygen is produced by sea and fresh air algae, as a byproduct of photosynthesis. Algae and pneumatocysts profoundly affect the balance of life above and below the water’s surface, evoking consideration of the complexities and interconnectedness of life and what sustains it. “ - Emily Clawson

The work was originally comprised of 170 float forms; after additions made by Clawson, the final count rose to 220 forms. The piece began with photographs of coastal plants native to the Northern California Coast which were altered and used as photo transfers in layered gel medium, creating a skin-like material.  These “skins” were cut, partially stitched, filled with copper wire, and stitched closed. Several of the float forms were filled with found pneumatocysts and dried coastal weeds.  

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Climate disruption, the melting of the polar caps and glaciers, the scorching heat in other regions and the scarcity of drinkable water, have been on Christel Dillbohner’s mind for some time. She aims to participate visually in the environmental discussion about change, loss and prevention. These concerns have motivated her research of melting glaciers and pack ice in the Arctic and Antarctica. Her work is an exploration of environments that are both physical and mental, suggesting a parallel between physical landscape, created over millions of years by the movement of the earth, by wind and water, fire and soil, and our own inner landscape, formed by layers of personal experiences gathered over the course of a lifetime.

Christel Dillbohner currently lives and works in the Bay Area; other examples of her work were featured in NUMU’s 2017/2018 exhibition Waterlines. She was born in Germany and studied at the Cologne Art School, Kölner Werkschule, where she received her MFA. She is the recipient of numerous awards and grants including the Rockefeller Foundation and the National Endowment of the Arts through LACE, Los Angeles. 

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Kristin Lindseth’s recent work utilizes uprooted boats as a metaphor for entering into the unknown in life. Sparked by the worldwide refugee crisis, this series of sculptures reflects the experience of being shaken, uprooted from the familiar and cast into the unknown; suspended without a place to rest, hovering. Lindseth’s works emerge from her deeply personal experiences as well as the experiences of those with whom she is closest. 

Lindseth is an internationally exhibited sculptor, printmaker and educator, living and working in the South Bay Area. Her work has been represented in over 100 local, regional, national and international exhibitions at museums and galleries. Her sculptures and intaglio prints are also held in private collections in Sweden, Germany, Spain, France, England and Greece. Lindseth and husband George Rivera were featured in NUMU’s inaugural In the Artist’s Studio exhibition series in 2018. She is a member of the International Sculpture Society, Pacific Rim Sculptors, and Nordic FIve Arts. Currently, she is an instructor of Art at Mission College in Santa Clara, where she teaches Digital Art and Drawing. 

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Hope (Hooded Figure)

George Rivera explores the complexities of contemporary life in his dark figurative oil paintings, using the darkness to express both solitary reflection and a shared emotional conflict. Both are experienced, Rivera reflects, within "our chaotic times of racism, gun violence, judgment, hope [and] atrocities against ourselves and one another. If our times seem conspicuously fraught, it might be because the peace and affluence we Americans have accepted as normal were not givens and probably not 'normal.'” Rivera utilizes these provocative themes in his artwork to engage viewers. 

As a practicing artist, Rivera’s work has been exhibited in museums and galleries nationally and internationally including: the San Jose Museum of Art; the De Saisset Museum; the National Steinbeck Center; Villa Montalvo Center for the Arts; San Jose ICA, among others. He and his wife, fellow artist Kristin Lindseth, were featured in NUMU’s inaugural In the Artist’s Studio exhibition series in 2018. Rivera has also been the recipient of numerous awards in the field of art, arts education, curating, arts administration and community service.  

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Reflection

Since the late 1970s, George Rivera has focused on the human figure as the key subject of  of his work. With content that utilizes metaphor, his works convey a sense of capturing oneself in solitary moments of reflection, emotion and expectation. He states: “...in the private, isolated moments, when we have to face our demons, whatever they may be, real or self imposed, these are the conflicts and moments of indecision, pain, and confrontations in life which I share through my work.”  

Rivera’s broad experience includes serving as Executive Director and Senior Curator at the Triton Museum of Art from 1985 - 2013. Prior to the Triton, from 1982 - 1985, Rivera was the Executive Director and Curator of the San Jose Art League. Since 1977, he has organized and curated upwards of 400 local, state, national and international exhibitions, collaborating with museums, galleries and private collections.  He is currently an Associate Faculty Instructor of Art at Mission College in Santa Clara, an Extension Instructor for UC Berkeley and an Adjunct Art Instructor at Ohlone College in Fremont.  

Johnathon Schmuck was born and raised in Los Gatos and as a child enjoyed trips to the Santa Cruz Mountains and other outdoor places. These adventures led him to earn a degree in Earth Sciences from UC Santa Cruz. In observing the physical properties of earth and rock strata, Schmuck realized that he was attracted to the visual qualities of the rocks. Colloidal is reminiscent of stone and is a reference to Schmuck’s geological background. Shortly after completing his science degree, he began taking art classes and honed his focus to studying glass at San Jose State University.  These studies in glass-making eventually led Schmuck to receive his MFA in Glass from the Rochester Institute of Technology in New York.  

Schmuck has a studio in Santa Cruz and ran the kilnforming program at the Bay Area Glass Institute in San Jose from 2009 to 2011. He is the author of The Joy of Coldworking, a book about grinding, smoothing and polishing blown and fused glass, and he has taught this practice at schools and private studios across the globe. 

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In art school, Gordon Smedt’s focus in painting was the portrait and human figure. After graduation, the lack of human models left him with the “gift to paint everything else” in the world. Smedt focuses on what intrigues and excites him, objects often familiar to most of us but far from obvious as typical subject matter. Scale is an important aspect to his work as well, bringing life back to the subjects he paints, this largeness gives power and importance to something often forgotten, overlooked or discarded. Smedt also strives for boldness through color and paint application, which is complemented by a sense of intimacy through his close-up and straight forward perspective. It is his hope that the inspiration and delight he experiences while creating his art imparts the same impression onto the viewer. 

Residing in the Los Gatos/Santa Cruz Mountains, Smedt is a native of the San Francisco Bay Area. He first studied art at San Jose State University before continuing his education at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, where he was twice awarded merit scholarships and graduated with honors receiving a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1986. Smedt's paintings have been shown in distinguished art galleries for the past 30 years and collected internationally.

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“Whilst not literal, this [painting] is inspired by the unique characteristics of plants that live on the edge where land and water meet. This is where extreme climatic conditions occur and a plant’s survival is visually evident with thick waxy leaves, glaucous colors, and protective outer ‘plant skins' that create wonderful textures. I am inspired by this unique eco-tone. There are several plants that come under the latin species "Maritima” in their botanical nomenclature. Here I am expressing my memories of being beside these plants on the edge - the painting is more about about my take away perceptions of 'blurred’ coastal experiences over 50 years rather than an actual moment.” - Bernard Trainor

Trainor approaches his artwork through a personal lens of unique observations of both wild and constructed landscapes around the world. His art is focused on the lasting images he absorbed living on the edge of Australia’s rugged South Eastern Coast, where he was raised, and from the California coastline, where he currently lives and works. His work has been exhibited throughout the greater Bay Area and is held in numerous private collections. 

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James Wayne was a leading West Coast glass artist who produced sculptural, organic forms sometimes combined with cast bronze. He was also an accomplished ceramicist, best known for wheel-thrown and hand-built functional vessel forms and sculpture. He divided his studio and teaching time between the two mediums. Wayne taught Ceramics and Sculpture at his alma mater, San Jose State University, and Glass and Ceramics at the University of Southern California (USC) and was also on the faculty at Pasadena City College and the University of Hawaii in Honolulu. His work is held in the art collections of Mills College and the Oakland Museum of California, Northern Illinois University, University of Nebraska and San Jose State University.  

NUMU Director’s Circle members are a philanthropic group of art, history, and culture enthusiasts who make a meaningful impact in the community through their support of New Museum Los Gatos. They are a unique and ardent group of supporters dedicated to ensuring that the museum achieves a lasting legacy of quality exhibitions and related programming by providing sustainable support. Through their support, Director’s Circle members enable NUMU to expand its reach within the community as a place where active and imaginative minds can flourish. Circle members are the museum’s partners in the stewardship of the art and history of Los Gatos and the surrounding region.

In appreciation of their annual support, Director’s Circle members receive a limited edition artwork by a Bay Area artist, commissioned specifically for them. The artist chosen to participate in this annual program also donates two pieces from the commission to the museum: one which stays in the Permanent Collection, the other is used for fundraising. In this way, the Director’s Circle program not only supports personal collecting, but also helps to build NUMU’s Permanent Art Collection.

2016 marked the inaugural year of the Director’s Circle program and the Circle artist that year was San Francisco printmaker Jenny Robinson, whose work was featured in NUMU’s 2015 exhibition, Giants of the Sky: The Rise and Fall of Airships.  WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM

The 2017 Circle artist was Santa Cruz’s Andrea Borsuk, who’s incredible murals created the backdrop for the museum’s History Gallery. 2018 marked the first Circle artist collaboration by artists and spouses Kristin Lindseth and George Rivera. 

NUMU is very pleased to announce 2019’s Circle artist, Stacey Carter, whose photo-based, mixed media work also vitalized the 2015 Airships exhibition.

When NUMU was conceived as the Los Gatos Museum Association (LGMA) in 1965, it opened as a Natural History Museum on Tait Avenue. The collection then was comprised of rock and mineral samples, insects and taxidermy birds and other animals - many of which have remained in the current collections. Over the years, the original Natural History Museum slowly became an Art Museum by pivoting away from collecting rocks to collecting art.

In the 1990s, the LGMA broadened the museum’s scope to include Los Gatos history and opened a second exhibition space in the historic Forbes Mill. It was at this point that the collection expanded to include historical artifacts and family histories. These treasured pieces in the Permanent Collection tell the stories and legacies of Los Gatos’ original inhabitants, its innovators, artists, political figures, industry leaders, institutions and the events and happenings that have shaped the town.