Bronze Works by Professor De Staebler Stride Into Montalvo

SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE -- Victory against all odds appears to be one operating metaphor in “Metaphoric States: Five Bronze Works by Stephen De Staebler” at Montalvo Arts Center through October 1 . De Staebler’s 2010 bronze “Winged Figure Ascending” seems like that idea’s most obvious realization — the Greek goddess Nike as a Brutalist angel readying for takeoff in front of Montalvo’s villa. “Metaphoric States” is part of an effort to activate the historic grounds with works on loan, Sicat says, and she thinks the works by the late San Francisco State professor, who was instrumental in the California Clay Movement, have been “transformative.”