A sculpture from Bella Feldman’s Utility Futility series is on view at di Rosa Center for Contemporary Art’s San Francisco gallery. The exhibition, running through September 12, 2026, is the first comprehensive museum survey of The Dome Center for Art, Music, and Dance. Sculptor Peter Voulkos founded the live-work artist community in Oakland in 1976.
Housed in a converted food processing factory, The Dome served as an anchor for West Coast experimental art. It offered shared industrial infrastructure like kilns and casting spaces where artists lived and worked together.
The curators organized the exhibition to reflect the collaborative environment of the original Oakland space, focusing heavily on the female sculptors who shaped the community's early decades. Feldman established her studio at The Dome in 1977, working with polyester resin, fiberglass, and heavy steel. The selected piece from her Utility Futility series reflects this era, altering traditional domestic and industrial tools into non-functional steel metaphors.
The exhibition also traces the multi-generational relationships formed within the space. Feldman’s inclusion connects directly to the work of painter and sculptor JP Long, who is also featured in the show. Long first encountered The Dome as a student at the California College of the Arts and became Feldman’s studio assistant, starting a decades-long creative relationship centered on industrial materials.
Exhibition Details & Public Events
Exhibition Dates: Now through September 12, 2026
Where: di Rosa Center, 1150 25th Street, San Francisco, CA
Hours: Tuesday – Saturday, 11am – 5pm
Website: https://www.dirosaart.org/2026/03/the-dome-show/
Several public events are scheduled during the run:
Panel Discussion
Early and contemporary Dome artists discuss their shared materials and themes.
June 27, 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Documentary Screening
A public screening of Bella, director Elizabeth Sher’s film tracking Feldman’s life and studio practice.
August 1, 4:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.