di Rosa Center for Contemporary Art maintains a permanent collection of works by Northern California artists that was originally collected by Rene di Rosa (1919-2010) and Veronica di Rosa (1934–1991). The collection contains notable works by artists living or working in the San Francisco Bay Area from mid-twentieth century to the early twenty-first century, highlighting a story of experimentation of the artists of the region. It is displayed in part, on a rotating basis, in the galleries at di Rosa.
This page represents a just a portion of di Rosa’s rich permanent collection. Stay tuned as we continue to populate this page with artworks from our collection.
di Rosa strives to be a resource for educators, students and lifelong learners. For research inquiries, please contact curatorial@dirosaart.org.
Roller
Sculpture
Two wheel forms joined by an axle
1886
Wood, steel, paint
Sculpture
AR1886
Modernsculpture.com
Purchase
Credit Line: Acquisition, Modernsculpture, 2001
William Wareham
2000
Title
Signature
Date
Base
Roller W. Wareham '00
Object
156 in
120 in
156 in
Wareham has been using recycled steel as the primary source for his sculpture, but he goes far beyond what most artists do with recycled materials these days. It is the "pre-used history that the material inherently holds", he says, that inspires him. "These worn-out metal things will continue to have a life by gathering, refocusing and rejoining into a collective other life".
Wareham (b. 1943) MFA graduated from Univeristy of California, Berkeley, in 1971. Was a recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts in 1974 and the Eisner Prize for sculpture at UC Berkeley in 1968 and 1969. In 1999, he was awarded an artist residency at Djerassi. He was an assistant to Peter Volkos for five years and Mark Di Suvero for six. His other influences can be traced to Anthony Caro and David Smith.