A focus on Norther California artists sets the di Rosa collection apart.
For decades, getting a look at the famed di Rosa collection of work by Northern California artists meant a bit of a road trip for city dwellers.
Now, the di Rosa Center for Contemporary Art museum and sculpture garden, located on 217 acres at 5200 Sonoma Highway in Napa ― is reaching out to a wider audience, with the opening of a new exhibit space Aug. 2 at the Minnesota Street Project, 1150 25th St., San Francisco.
“There are many reasons for this outreach. The most important reason is to expand our reach. People in San Francisco are very interested in our art,” said Kate Eilertsen, di Rosa’s executive director.
For those in the city who haven’t made the trip to Napa Valley to the see art collection, the new San Francisco venue makes it more convenient to see the artwork.
“It’s really only a 55-minute drive from the city to our center in Napa Valley, but people think it’s farther,” Eilertsen added.
The opening exhibition in San Francisco will bring together significant works by artists from the region, working from the 1960s to today, including David Best, Sandow Birk, Elmer Bischoff, Joan Brown, Enrique Chagoya, Bruce Conner, Jay DeFeo, Roy De Forest, Mike Henderson, Ester Hernandez, Lynn Hershman Leeson, Mildred Howard, David Ireland and William T. Wiley.
In the future, the new gallery will exhibit a wide range of art.
“It’ll be not only work from the permanent collection but work by contemporary artists inspired by the artists in our collection,” Eilertsen said.
Rene di Rosa, vintner, art collector and founder of the di Rosa Center for Contemporary Art, died 2010 at age 91.
“Rene wanted to collect only work by artists from Northern California,” Eilertsen said. “That is something we honor. We have the foremost collection of work by Northern California artists.”
In addition to the new San Francisco venue, the di Rosa organization also maintains a gallery at 1300 First St. in downtown Napa. (For more information, visit firststreetnapa.com/portfolio-item/di-rosa-downtown.)
“We’re busy, as you can tell,” Eilertsen said. “We figure that is how we can let people know about us.”
The larger collection and outdoor sculpture meadow in Napa Valley will continue to be available for tours by appointment. (Visit dirosaart.org for details.)
The nationally known di Rosa collection includes early work by the “Funk Movement” sculptors who came out of UC Berkeley and UC Davis in the early 1960s.
With new the di Rosa’s new San Francisco exhibit site opening, the push is on to expand the collection’s audience.
“We get 10,000 people a year in Napa Valley, but it’s hard to get more. That’s a reason to expand,” Eilertsen said.
“I know Rene would be very happy about this expansion,” she added. “He would go to the city for the galleries and exhibitions.”
You can reach Staff Writer Dan Taylor at dan.taylor@pressdemocrat.com or 707-521-5243. On X @danarts.