Ann Rowles is an American mixed-media sculptor. She lives and works in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, U.S.

Early life and education

Rowles received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Studio Art in 1969,and a Master of Fine Arts degree in Sculpture in 1990, both from the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

Career

Rowles has had several solo exhibitions in the United States, and participated in many group shows in the US and abroad. She has been a visiting artist at the

Vermont College of Fine Arts Vermont College of Fine Arts (VCFA) is a private graduate-level art school in Montpelier, Vermont. It offers Master's degrees in low-residency and residential programs. Its faculty includes Pulitzer Prize finalists, National Book Award winners, ...

and

Western Carolina University Western Carolina University (WCU) is a public university in Cullowhee, North Carolina. It is part of the University of North Carolina system. The fifth oldest institution of the sixteen four-year universities in the UNC system, WCU was founded ...

, among others, and served as a juror and curator at venues throughout the Southeastern US. Rowles has been active with the Women's Art Movement since 1980, and affiliated with SOHO20 Gallery since 1992. She is the co-founder of the Women’s Caucus for Art of Georgia and has been on the National

Women's Caucus for Art The Women's Caucus for Art (WCA), founded in 1972, is a non-profit organization based in New York City, which supports women artists, art historians, students, educators, and museum professionals. The WCA holds exhibitions and conferences to promo ...

Board of Directors since 2004.

Work

Rowles uses mixed media to investigate the material substance and structure of the human body. Her major series of work include ''Re-constructions'' (2014- ); ''Contortions'' (2004–13); ''Hyperplasia'' (1989–98); and ''Vests'' (1982-). Prior to 2000, Rowles’s work dealt with the social and emotional associations of clothing. For ''Vests'', she created soft, suspended sculptures from a variety of materials, such as vinyl, rubber, plastic toys, zippers, and chenille wire, which playfully critique gender norms. With the ''Contortion'' series, Rowles turned to the structure of the body itself, crocheting forms suggestive of osteoporotic bones and digestive tracks. Specifically invoking the aging body, the sculptures were inspired by the artist’s experience of caring for her elderly mother. For ''Re-Constructions'', Rowles created suspended sculptures out of molded layers of sheer fabric, to which she added wire mesh, crepe hair, rubber, bone, and silkscreened imagery. The visceral, skin-like quality of this work is reminiscent of

Louise Bourgeois Louise Joséphine Bourgeois (; 25 December 191131 May 2010) was a French-American artist. Although she is best known for her large-scale sculpture and installation art, Bourgeois was also a prolific painter and printmaker. She explored a varie ...

’s sculptures of the 1960s.

Major solo exhibitions

''Riffs and Contortions'', The Arts Exchange Gallery, Atlanta, GA, 2013. ''Soft Works'', Jim Cherry LRC Gallery, Georgia Perimeter College, Clarkston, GA, 2009. ''Cut to Size'', Chelsea Gallery, Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, NC, 2003. ''Closet Installation: Memory & Fantasy'', Artspace, Raleigh, NC; University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Cone Galleries, Charlotte, NC; Durham Art Guild, Durham, NC; Gallery A, Raleigh, NC; Brevard College, Brevard, NC. ''Threads'', Spirit Square Center for the Arts, Charlotte, NC; Meredith College, Weems Gallery, Raleigh, NC. ''Hyperplasia'', Hanes Art Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC; Durham Art Guild, Durham, NC, 1988. ''Garments'', Center/Gallery, Carrboro, NC, 1987. ''Emerging Icons'', Center/Gallery, Carrboro, NC, 1987.

Public collections

William King Regional Art Center, Abingdon, VA. North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching, Cullowhee, NC.

References

External links

* http://www.annrowles.com * http://wcageorgia.blogspot.com/2012/04/ann-rowles-artistleaderbest-daughter.html * http://www.soho20gallery.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Rowles, Ann 1947 births Living people American women artists 20th-century American sculptors University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumni 21st-century American women 21st-century American sculptors