Peter Koltai talks about Gallery House, newly opened in downtown Menlo Park

Longtime pediatric ear, nose and throat doctor at Lucile Packard, Dr. Peter Koltai (pictured) is embracing a new pursuit in retirement. He’s the chair of Gallery House, which opened May 22 in downtown Menlo Park (826 Santa Cruz Ave.) after many years in Palo Alto, the last 23 behind Printer’s Cafe.

“When we learned we’d need a new space, we looked up and down the Peninsula,” he says. “It was discouraging — leasing pricing was exorbitant. Then a little miracle happened. One of our members knew a landlord on Santa Cruz Avenue. We went to see the space and immediately could see the potential.”

Peter appreciates how welcome the community has made them feel, with a lot of people stopping by to take a look. “It’s amazing what a coat of white paint and good lighting will do,” he says.

Peter discovered he could draw when he was a child, and during his career in medicine, he often did the medical illustrations that accompanied his publications. His uses a technique called “Color Cell”, where a dimensional acrylic bead creates cells into which the colors are poured, rendering a stained-glass presence to the pictures. Peter’s work is pictured above.

Gallery House, which was founded in 1957,  is a cooperative made up of 23 two-dimensional artists. “We have a queue of artists wanting to join us, and we’d love to feature more ceramics, wood sculpture and artistic furniture.

“We seem to have a bit of wind in our sails. We are ecstatic how beautiful it is. The art just shines on the walls!

Gallery House is open Wednesday through Sunday from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm. Planned are same-day receptions with The Main Gallery — which is across the street —where visitors can view a combined 40 individual artists. The first joint reception is on Friday, June 14, from 5:00 to 7:00 pm, and the second is Friday, July 12, same time.

Photos by Robb Most (c) 2024