Jackie Ferrara American, 1929-2025

Jackie Ferrara extended the notion of traditional sculpture into the architectonic sphere with her monumental wood sculptures. A defining voice of the post-minimalist movement, her sculpture evoked both formal precision and ancient mysticism. She developed her singular style in the 1970s, forgoing the sleek fabrications preferred by minimalist sculptors of the period. Instead, her adherence to crafting with wood and glue demonstrated her poetic attunement to material, form, and design. Her practice also extended to drawing, where she explored similar ideas of systematic pattern and structure expressed in her sculpture. Critically acclaimed for her conceptual maturity, Ferrara’s pivotal contributions to 20th century abstraction secured her legacy as a visionary figure in contemporary art.  

Jackie Ferrara (American, 1929—2025) studied at the State University of Michigan for six months before moving to New York City in the 1950s to immerse herself in the art scene. Her work has been exhibited widely at venues including the Museum of Modern Art in New York, NY, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, IL, Michael Klein Gallery in New York, NY, and A.M Sachs Gallery in New York, NY. In 2025, she was featured in The Language of Pattern at PFA-Washington, D.C. A testament to her enduring impact, Ferrara’s works are in the collection of numerous public and private institutions, including the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, NY; the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) in Los Angeles, CA; the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Humlebaek, Denmark; and The Philips Collection in Washington, D.C. 

Additionally, she is well known for creating public works for the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden in Minneapolis, MN, the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, MN, and the University of Houston in Houston, TX. Ferrara received several awards and grants, including three National Endowment of the Arts Fellowships (1973, 1977, 1987), two Creative Artist Public Service grants (1971, 1975) a Guggenheim Fellowship (1976), and an Institute Honor from the American Institute of Architects (1990).