Napa gallery parades oddities, whimsy, fine art

Rene di Rosa, for half a century, collected fine art, sculptures and photos.

He also collected artists — as friends.

Having graduated from Yale, di Rosa had mutated from Navy man to wannabe novelist and bohemian to professional journalist but never found his actual calling until, after a stint of disquiet, he bought a chunk Napa Valley land in 1960.

He tried growing grapes for a while.

But then began his extended hunting-and-gathering adulthood, during which he built a collection of 2,000 works by 800 Bay Area and Northern California artists.

Half that modern art is now on display at any given time on 217 di Rosa Preserve acres, which he transformed into indoor-outdoor galleries.

To which I shout out, “Bravo!”

Although the exhibits include scores of thought-provoking pieces of fine art, what I like best is the collection being chock-full of oddities and whimsy, surely not the mainstays of most art museums or galleries.

Such as “Contract II,” a 1985 sculpture by Bruce Conner, that spurts three distinct recorded relationship messages during a viewer’s tri-step, wedding-march approach:

“We belong together; I’ll never leave you,” “I’ll always love you,” and, as a final declaration, “I wish you were dead.”

Or an intriguing Chester Arnold oil on canvas, “The Kingdom Come II,” which depicts a globe on which he’s reputedly painted in miniature everything he possessed just before the turn of the century.

Or “All for Me,” a Charlene Milgrom piece that showcases a small mound of black bowling balls crammed into a real marble bathtub in the historic di Rosa residence. The installation was completed shortly after di Rosa and his artist wife Veronica moved out of the building.

Or an old car almost totally covered with junk re-imagined as eye-candy that almost belies description but is sure to evoke a smile or two.

David Best is its obsessive-compulsive creator.

I also grin every time I see the en plein-air quasi-sculpture by di Rosa himself — an old Volkswagen dangling from a tree.

One legend says he felt too many cars had killed people so he “hung” it. A lighter version is that he put it there because he couldn’t get it registered and didn’t know what else to do with it.

Either way, it’s a definite “wow,” even if not true art.

Then there’s the shed, a creation of Mildred Howard walled by 4,000 empty wine bottles. It blows me away each time I check it out.

According to one docent, the artist had hand-removed all the labels before learning she could have bought a bunch of “naked ones” from recycling centers.

But I believe a quote from John Lennon, the Beatle, might apply: “Time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time.”

di Rosa, in his later years (he died at age 91 in 2010), wasted no time.

His old residence, which features wall-to-wall art and artifacts (which also cover the ceilings and floors), spotlights a Robert Arneson painting that celebrates the collector having taken classes at U.C. Davis and developed lifelong friendships with artists and professors (including William T. Wiley, Robert Hudson and Arneson).

All four of them are portrayed in the painting, and also show up in a kitchen photo taken years later.

Without a doubt, the di Rosa is my favorite art gallery.

I love the collection.

I love the tour.

I love the vineyard, the gardens, the natural landscape, the 35-acre lake, the wildlife preserve.

In fact, I’d probably say I’m addicted to the museum-like di Rosa. And, as if it were a 12-step meeting of some kind, I keep coming back.

The di Rosa Preserve, at 5200 Sonoma Highway in Napa, is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. Tours (90 or 120 minutes) are $9 to $15; children 11 and under, free. Information: www.dirosaart.org or (707) 226-5991.