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.
Abyssal Storm I
Sculpture
By rotating the sculpture's steel armature and internal oval disk, visitors can set the sand-like matter into swirling action.
2118
Steel, water, Plexiglas, and glass beads
Sculpture
AR2118
Off the Preserve!
Purchase
Ned Kahn
2003
Object
65 in
50 in
36 in
Counter Clockwise
January 22 - April 11, 2026, di Rosa SF
Ned Kahn: Seed Vortex
January 11 - March 25, 2018, Bedford Gallery at the Lesher Center for Arts, Walnut Creek
Collection in Focus: Ned Kahn
February 3 - April 10, 2016, di Rosa Center for Contemporary Art, Napa
Curator
Abyssal Storm 1 (2003), a rotating metal sculpture with a mixture of glass beads and water, captures the deep sea phenomenon of abyssal storms-sudden, powerful currents which stir up sediments and sea creatures along the ocean floor. Kahn brings this natural occurrence-something typically only viewable by scientists and researchers-into the gallery space. By rotating the sculpture's steel armature and internal oval disk, visitors can set the sand-like matter into swirling action.