For Immediate Release November 2, 2011

Contact: Diane Maxwell, 408-961-5841 dmaxwell@montalvoarts.org

Site-Specific Installation by Claudia Borgna on Montalvos Grounds:

On View November 1 November 30
SARATOGA, Calif. Montalvo Arts Center announces the opening of Mighty Like A Flower, a new site-specific work by internationally known artist Claudia Borgna, installed on the expansive front lawn of the Art Centers historic Villa. On view through November 30, the stunning piece is comprised of more than 500 handmade four-foot-tall white flowers created from recycled plastic bags and found tree branches. On Friday, October 28, the completion of Borgnas piece was celebrated at Montalvos monthly Final Friday event with a dance performance by the Bay Areas Nina Haft & Company. Borgna says of her work Through the creation of momentary, artificial landscapes I like to lure the viewers into a virtual lyrical extension of modern life that substitutes the old idealized concept of nature with a romanticized contemporary one. A dreamlike floating vision: drifting from the tangible to the intangible. The new exhibition is part of a two-part exhibition, Inside and Outside: The Work of Claudia Borgna, presented by Montalvo Arts Center in partnership with the Los Gatos Museum. Borgnas site-specific installation at the Museum, Plastic Bags and Ephemeral Dreams, opened on September 22 and will run through November 18. With cases of recycled plastic bags in tow, Borgna has lead a semi-nomadic life

Mighty Like A Flower

traveling the world and examining the relationship between nature and the manmade world through her work. Her site-specific installations explore how the plastic and the natural realms interact with one another and create new ephemeral orders. Borgna has been in residence at Montalvos Lucas Artists Residency Program since September and will conclude her residency in midDecember. Borgna, who was born in Germany and grew up in Italy, has exhibited throughout Europe, Mexico and the USA. She is the recipient of grants from both the Joan Mitchell and the Jackson Pollock and Lee Krasner Foundations and was awarded the Royal British Society of Sculptors Bursary Award as well as the Pritzker Foundation Endowed Fellowship Award.

Claudia Borgna: Mighty Like A Flower What: A stunning site-specific installation of more than 500 handmade four-foot-tall white flowers made from recycled white plastic bags and found tree branches. When: November 1 through November 30, 2011. Where: Front Lawn, Montalvo Arts Center, 15400 Montalvo Road, Saratoga, CA Admission: Free admission and free parking on the grounds. Visitors are welcome to bring a picnic and dine on the lawn and to enjoy the artwork!
### About Montalvo Arts Center Montalvo Arts Center is an oasis of culture and nature whose mission is to create and present arts of all types, nurture artists, and use our historic Villa, buildings, and grounds in innovative ways that engage people in the creative process. Located in Silicon Valley's Saratoga hills, Montalvo Arts Center occupies a Mediterraneanstyle villa on 175 stunning acres, including an international artist residency program. Senator James Phelan left the historic villa and grounds to the people of California for the encouragement of art, music, literature and architecture. In January 2005, the organization changed its name from Montalvo to Montalvo Arts Center to commemorate its 75th year as an arts center and to better communicate its mission to expanding local, national and international audiences. For more

information about Montalvo Arts Center, call 408-961-5800 or visit http://www.montalvoarts.org/