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.
Biennale Entry Portal
Sculpture
Steel truss with cylindrical forms supported by two pairs of concrete columns; 'The Presence of the Past' written above columns in English and Italian, created on occasion of the International Architecture Exhibition at the 1980 Venice Biennale in San Francisco
680
Steel, concrete, and glass
Sculpture
AR680
Crosby Thornton Marshall Associates
Purchase
Crosby Thornton Marshall Associates
1982
Object
276 in
432 in
52 in
Collections Manager
Katie Kime
Apr 22, 2025
Artwork is mentioned in: -Architectural Record, July 1982 (see page 33 of the document) -Archetype, Spring 1982 (see pages 12 and 37 of the document) Scans of these periodicals can be found in the Crosby Thornton and Marshall Associates file. Summary provided to outside researcher: Biennale Entry Portal was built specifically for the Fort Mason iteration of “Presence of the Past”. A design competition was held, and the piece was chosen to be the entryway to the “La Strada Novissima” (The Newest Street). Due to permitting circumstances, it ended up on Pier 2 instead. The entryway was not intended to be a permanent structure and was set to be demolished at the end of the exhibition. Rene di Rosa, however, loved the piece and was allowed to have it on the condition that he paid for the dismantling, shipping and installation. Installation on our property was completed in 1986 and it serves as the gateway to our Olive Grove picnic area. Biennale Entry Portal has been the backdrop for many of our events and partnerships including performances by Shakespeare Napa Valley.