Accomplished alumna featured in international show

Susan Ferrari Rowley’s story is one of passion-driven perseverance. With a combined love for art and teaching, she has reached tall heights, from becoming a pioneer of a new art revolution to scoring shows in prestigious venues. And all the while, she has spread her influence to her many students.

A significant portion of Ferrari Rowley’s development as an artist and teacher occurred at Rochester Institute of Technology. She is an alumna of two RIT graduate programs (master of science for teachers in visual arts-all grades in 1976 and weaving and textile design MFA in 1981) and also a former faculty member.

She describes herself as a post-minimalist, crafting sculptures that combine fabric with other materials that have been featured in museums across the country, and now, in an aboard venue.  

Using everything as inspiration, Ferrari Rowley’s dream of showing in an overseas exhibit has been fulfilled. Her work was chosen for display in the “Time Space Existence” exhibition, on view through Nov. 25 in Venice, Italy. It is being held as a collateral of the International Architecture Exhibition.

Ferrari Rowley is one of only seven Americans out of an international field of 30 to be featured. 

The exclusive show presents a selection of works from architects, photographers and sculptors all over the world at three celebrated spaces: Palazzo Bembo, Palazzo Mora and Giardini Marinaressa. 

A well-known, Rochester-based artist, Ferrari Rowley’s sculptures are architectural in nature with a focus on the accentuation of negative space, which she achieves with large, dramatic pieces that often work in conjunction with the walls and floors of gallery spaces. 

Working in a medium of welded aluminum and sewn poly-fiber, her pieces have been featured in hundreds of galleries, museums and outdoor areas across the country, alongside the work of other prolific artists like Wendell Castle, the late legendary furniture designer and RIT artist-in-residence. 

Not only is Ferrari Rowley constantly perfecting her craft and sharing her art with an audience, she is a full-time faculty member in Monroe Community College’s Visual and Performing Arts department. 

A passion for teaching and creating art has vaulted Ferrari Rowley from exhibiting locally to nationally to internationally during an accomplished career. 

Read more about Ferrari’s interesting journey in the world of art below. 

Question: What was the selection process for the “Time Space Existence” exhibition in Venice?

Susan Ferrari Rowley: They decide who they’re going to extend an invitation to. I got the email and I remember I called my husband and said, ‘I don’t know if I’m getting scammed.’ I read him this long letter they wrote to me and I said, ‘I can’t believe this is happening.’ I can’t believe it because there are so many artists that are in these really huge galleries. They said it was through the ISC (International Sculpture Center), which did a big spread on me I was all over the internet and they found me.

Question: Can you describe the piece, "She," you created for the six-month show in Italy?

SFR: I wanted to show a piece that floated and defied gravity using the wall and the floor. I wanted the piece to look like it was going to fall down, but it’s not. I want viewers to wonder what the heck is holding the thing up. I made a wall and a floor to scale and then I designed a piece that was going to attach to the wall in one place, one screw, that’s it. It has the work running down it and it looks like it’s going to completely flop over, but it doesn’t. The piece itself is 11 1/2 feet.

Question: Now that you’ve achieved another career goal of yours with being featured in a show overseas, what’s next for you?  

SFR: Italy is still a stepping stone. I’m still sending things out and we’re still moving forward. My next big thing is a one-woman show in Cincinnati in September of 2019. I’m going to do a one-of-a-kind, very exciting installation. It’s an incredible gorgeous room and they want me to do something spectacular for it. I’m very excited because instead of making a sculpture to be installed I’m really getting to use all the space, which is what I love to do. 

Question: You mentioned that you’ve always incorporated fabric into your art, a concept that was relatively new to the art industry when you experimented with it at RIT. Could you speak more to that?

SFR: When they opened the Pyramid, which became RoCo (Rochester Contemporary Art Center) later, they invited me down to show my work. Because I was doing my sculptures with fabric, I was called ‘Fiber.’ That was pre-revolution. I was part of that revolution to make fiber sculpture. All that craftsmanship at RIT had a big effect on me and I carried it right across the border into being called a sculpture and crossed that boundary line. 

Question: In addition to being a student at RIT, you were also a faculty member at the university. What was that experience like? 

SFR: When I taught at RIT, I felt that this was where I belonged. I liked the feeling of dedication in the halls. The students were dedicated and I was so dedicated and so passionate and I just loved being steeped in that passion.

Question: Do you have any advice for College of Art and Design at RIT prospective and current students who may want to follow a similar career path you took?

SFR: My big advice is it doesn’t all happen at once — you’ve got to think of it as a life journey. Everyone wants to make it but you’re never going to know when you’ve made it. Did I make it with Venice? When I got OK Harris (art gallery in New York City), Julianna Williams (accomplished painter and RIT alumna) looked at me and said, ‘You made it.’ But I was already thinking, ‘What am I going to do after OK Harris?’ If you think you’ve made it, you’re done, very possibly. Don’t wait for the be-all, end-all. Just keep moving because you love it and keep putting it out there. Wherever you live, let people in your city know what you do and put your work in other places — try other places to be national.