Triton Museum of Art Features Work of Saratoga Artist

West Valley artist Holly Van Hart is showing her new series “Possibilities Abound” in a solo exhibition at the Triton Museum of Art in Santa Clara. In this series, larger-than-life birds’ eggs and nests are used to symbolize the promise of our own capabilities, to be nurtured and explored and stretched to their fullest potential.

This solo exhibition was the prize Van Hart received for placing 1st in the 2013 Statewide Painting Competition hosted by the Triton Museum of Art.

Seventeen of Van Hart’s oil paintings are on display in the exhibition. Of these, eight have been borrowed back from collectors who graciously agreed to part with them for the duration of the exhibition. Two of the newer works, “Larger Than Life” and “Posh” are much larger than the others, measuring 6 feet wide by 4.5 feet high.

DeWitt Cheng, arts writer for Art Ltd and Visual Art Sources, says in an essay about Van Hart’s work, “Her naturalistic yet symbolic paintings . . . present their enigmatic subjects with both beauty and conviction, memorably.”

Preston Metcalf, Chief Curator at the Triton Museum of Art, has an additional interpretation of Van Hart’s work. Metcalf identified more with the nests than the eggs. He thought that we are each metaphorically a strand or twig that combines with our fellow beings to find the opportunities that abound when we realize that we are all connected.

Van Hart lives and works in Saratoga. Her work can also been seen at the Los Gatos Museums Gallery.

Van Hart is an art docent at Redwood Middle School in Saratoga, and a member of the parent advisory committee of the Saratoga Education Foundation.

‘Possibilities Abound’ runs through February 14, 2015 at the Triton Museum of Art, 1505 Warburton Avenue in Santa Clara.

Museum hours are Tuesday through Saturday 11am – 5pm, and Sunday 12pm – 4pm. Admission and parking are free.

Holly Van Hart paints abstract nature paintings that are intended to surprise viewers with unusual colors and textures, and ignite new excitement about a particular slice of nature. Her work can be seen at www.hollyvanhart.com and the Los Gatos Museums Art Gallery at 24 N. Santa Cruz Avenue in Los Gatos.

Info courtesy of artist, Images courtesy of Mark Evans