SITE SPECIFIC

Contemporary sculpture finds an extraordinary showcase in three Bay Area landscapes.

BY LYDIA LEE

DJERASSI RESIDENT ARTISTS PROGRAM: WOODSIDE

Established by Stanford biology professor and art collector Carl Djerassi in 1979, the Djerassi Resident Artists Program lets recipients pursue creative endeavors in the stunning setting of 800 pristine acres in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Today some 40 sculptures—including pieces by John Roloff and Mauro Staccioli—are tucked into the valleys of native oak and along hillsides overlooking the Pacific.

Braving the elements, the sculptures at the Djerassi ranch include (from left to right): "To Market, To Market" (2000), by Ann Weber and William Wareham; British sculptor David Nash's "Three Hills" (2006), made from charred redwood; and the dramatically sited "Tori" (1984), by Bruce Johnson, which has become the emblem of the residency program.

Some pieces are monumental; others are quite modest. Most of the works were not commissioned, but were created by artists during the course of their monthlong stays. The program's philosophy is to allow the outdoor artwork to weather naturally, rather than systematically preserve it. One of David Nash's three pieces on the property, Sylvan Steps, is a log staircase that used to project upwards from a creek, but has since been washed onto a bank.

"The sculptures are a wonderful by-product of the creative process here," says executive director Dennis O'Leary, who leads a three-mile hike through the highlights of the collection. Last fall, Nigerian artist Bright Ugochukwu Eke hung an installation of carved-wood fish from a tree, which didn't last through the winter storms. "It was about the environment and pollution, and the environment took it away. But it was very beautiful while it was up," says O'Leary.

OLIVER RANCH: ALEXANDER VALLEY

"Our intention was to build just one piece, but things got a little out of hand," says construction company owner and longtime arts patron Steven Oliver. Since commissioning Judith Shea to create a site-specific sculpture in 1985, Oliver has added 17 more pieces to his 100-acre Alexander Valley ranch. The works include Bruce Nauman's 289-step cast-concrete staircase installed on a hillside, Martin Puryear's untitled stone-and-mortar shapes and Richard Serra's "Snake Eyes and Boxcars," whose 12 blocks consist of 245 tons of solid Cor-Ten steel.

Among the site-specific pieces at Oliver Ranch are (from left to right): Bruce Nauman's Untitled (1998Ð1999), Martin Puryear's Untitled (1994Ð1995) and Ann Hamilton's "The Tower" (2003Ð2007).

The newest addition, Ann Hamilton's "The Tower," doubles as an unusually intimate performance space. Inspired by a medieval Italian well, the 86-foot-high concrete tower is open to the sky, which is reflected in a pool of water at the bottom. Inside, a double-helix staircase hosts spectators on one set of stairs and performers on the other—literally wrapping the audience inside the performance. Completed last spring, the tower has since hosted five performances of a specially commissioned vocal-ensemble piece by Meredith Monk. The Kronos Quartet is scheduled to debut a piece in the spring of 2009.

Oliver is no mere bystander in the creation of these immense worksÑhe supplies the engineering and building labor to pull off the creative visions. "We give artists the freedom to do things that they might not have done otherwise," says Oliver. He and wife Nancy host private tours of the sculptures, and all the proceeds from performances and tours go to nonprofit arts organizations.

DI ROSA PRESERVE: NAPA

The 217-acre di Rosa Preserve combines two of the Bay Area's most distinctive treasures: the pastoral beauty of Napa Valley and works by significant local artists such as Manuel Neri and Roy De Forest.

One of the grapegrowers who put Napa on the map in the 1960s, Rene di Rosa was also ahead of the curve in cultivating homegrown talent. After amassing one of the largest collections in the world of works by Bay Area artists, he opened the di Rosa Preserve to the public in 1997.

The diverse sculptures at the di Rosa Preserve include (left): Viola Frey's Homage (1987) (in foreground) and Mark di Suvero's For Veronica (1987); and (right) Gordon Huether's "Yucca" (2002), made from airplane gas tanks.

(Left) Ned Kahn's Wind House (2003); and (right) Untitled (Minuet in MG) (1999), by Samuel Yates.

A sleek steel barn in a dramatic lakeside setting has been turned into a gallery displaying paintings, and an open field bordered by a vineyard has become a "sculpture meadow." Other pieces are scattered throughout the landscape. "The idea is to encourage people to go on hikes and see sculpture amid the natural beauty of the place," says curator Michael Schwager.

The di Rosa collection is known for its emphasis on brightly colored figurative works, and among the sculptures is a ceramic nude by Viola Frey. Nearby is an abstract work by Mark di Suvero, with its angles of steel painted a bold red. Meanwhile, "the world's tallest filing cabinet"—a seven-story-high untitled piece by Samuel Yates that contains the crushed remains of an entire sports car in its drawers—is an example of the collection's quirkier side.