Wright Auction

Born in Detroit, American artist Jackie Ferrara is known for her architectural sculpture and installations. Ferrara studied briefly at Michigan State University but did not receive a degree or pursue other formal art education. Instead, Ferrara moved to New York in 1952 and immersed herself in the city’s art and performance scene. She performed in two Claes Oldenburg happenings and was involved in multiple productions at the Judson Memorial Church.

Absorbing the Minimalist cultural currents of the era, Ferrara began to develop her own aesthetic voice as a sculptor. Using everyday materials, she built constructions that resembled pyramids, ziggurats, and other architectural forms, maintaining that these were meant as abstractions and not architectural models. She was included in the Whitney Museum of American Art’s annual sculpture exhibition in 1970, as well as in the institution’s 1973 and 1979 biennials. Her first solo show was at A.M. Sachs Gallery in 1973, and she was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1976. As Nancy Princenthal wrote in 1992, “Ferrara’s sensibility is rooted in order as a pleasure principle. To appreciate her work is to share her joy in systems of organization, their multiplicity, and their permutations.

Ferrara’s approach to construction and environment was influential in redefining the scope of contemporary art, and she would go on to create many works of public art. Among such works are the 1988 Belvedere at the Walker Art Center and her 1999 Ampitheater at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Today, her works are held in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the High Museum of Art, among others.