Glass Bottle House by Mildred Howard
If you, like me, have driven by the metal sheep that dotted the hill at the entrance to the former di Rosa Preserve: Art and Nature, now known as the di Rosa Center for Contemporary Art, en-route between Sonoma and Napa, countless times and never made a visit, I highly recommend you put this quirky, secluded, world-class collection of an art-park on top of your summer to-do list.
Lots of folk, locals such as myself, assumed the Carneros estate an exclusive winery (it was, back in the 1800s prior to the phylloxera epidemic which wiped out much of the region's earliest vineyards and for a while, later) — hence the name change to a more obvious art center vibe a couple of years prior to the more recent (human) pandemic.
Rene di Rosa purchased these 217 acres back in 1960. He and his late wife, artist Veronica di Rosa used the profits from selling adjacent vineyard land to build their dream art-park in 1997.
They left their rambling paradise with an extensive art collection in two galleries, a sculpture meadow, olive grove and serene, 35-acre lake to the public via the Napa County Land Trust.
The metal sheep, created by Veronica, have been relocated to a more bucolic spot at the back of the property, while the large, Mark di Suvero metallic orange sculpture, titled: "For Veronica" now graces the entrance to the art-park.
I was invited to join a group of art-loving friends for a first time tour. Only one in our group of six had visited before and that was many years ago when she was taking an art class at College of Marin. We were all blown away by the collection of contemporary younger and regional artists that the di Rosa's had collected over the years.
A docent told us that Rene was a bargain hunter and scoured Northern California colleges for works by students and teachers. He certainly had an eye for the essence of this unique part of the world.
He collected more than 1600 objects over five decades, from the 1960s until his death in 2010. And he considered it a kind of "incorrect museum" — a potent concept in contrast to the aesthetic and social conventions of mainstream museums and galleries.
Rene was unpretentious and anti-conservative in his approach to his collection, informed by the Bay-Area's unique artistic milieu, focusing on regional artists he deemed as too often over looked by critics and historians for imbuing a sense of "rascality". He held faith with the ideal that the Bay Area art scene reflects the regions radical social and political climate in the postwar years, a notable development that played a consequential role in the development of modern American art.
Click here to read more about the di Rosas.
Sonoma County's David Best's "Rhinocar" — a 1976 Oldsmobile covered in found objects is one of the museum's most popular items in its eclectic collection. I was happy to hear after posting images on Instagram that Sonoma County contemporary artists Michael Garlington and Natalia Bertotti have been commissioned for a sculpture for di Rosa. I'm going to visit their studio later this summer and look forward to sharing more of their extraordinary work here on Southern Sonoma Country Life.
Smoke damage from the 2017 wildfires impacted the late di Rosa's private residence and much of the collection, which underwent substantial conservation cleaning. The entire living room art was moved from the residence into Gallery 2.
Considering all that has happened since the 2017 rename, the energy and excitement in reopening, even if on limited days/hours, is palpable and we visited on one of the 25th anniversary fundraiser days, which was lively and yet not overcrowded. There are lots of volunteers who are more than happy to chat about the collection and impart intriguing background info.
I think my favorite piece is the Angel-Go-Round by David Ireland though I was enthralled by the whole experience.
Admission is free to those under 17 years old, educators with school IDs and di Rosa members. General admission is $20 or $17 for seniors, military and students.
The museum and its courtyard is available to bilingual school tours and to rent for weddings — large, micro or elopements and private events.
The di Rosa Center for Contemporary Art is located at 5200 Sonoma Highway, Napa. For more information call 707-226-5991 or visit dirosaart.com.