# Ann Rowles

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**Ann Rowles** is an American mixed-media sculptor. She lives and works in [Atlanta](/source/Atlanta), 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](/source/University_of_North_Carolina_at_Chapel_Hill).

## 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](/source/Vermont_College_of_Fine_Arts) and [Western Carolina University](/source/Western_Carolina_University), 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](/source/Soho20_Chelsea) Gallery since 1992.[1] 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](/source/Women's_Caucus_for_Art) Board of Directors since 2004.

## Work

Rowles uses mixed media to investigate the material substance and structure of the human body.[2] 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.[3] With the *Contortion* series, Rowles turned to the structure of the body itself, crocheting forms suggestive of osteoporotic bones and digestive tracks.[4] Specifically invoking the aging body, the sculptures were inspired by the artist’s experience of caring for her elderly mother.[5] 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](/source/Louise_Bourgeois)’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

1. ["Ann Rowles | Soho20"](http://soho20gallery.com/ann-rowles-bio/). *soho20gallery.com*. Retrieved 1 March 2016.

1. ["www.annrowles.com"](http://www.annrowles.com). *www.annrowles.com*. Retrieved 1 March 2016.

1. Bonnie Arant Ertelt, “Ann Rowles: Threads,” *Art Papers* (March–April 1992): 57-58.

1. ["burnaway.org/review/growing-old-examined-third-act-athica/"](http://burnaway.org/review/growing-old-examined-third-act-athica/). *burnaway.org*. Retrieved 1 March 2016.

1. ["Recent Work"](http://www.annrowles.com/artwork1.html). *www.annrowles.com*. Retrieved 1 March 2016.

## External links

- [http://www.annrowles.com](http://www.annrowles.com)
- [http://wcageorgia.blogspot.com/2012/04/ann-rowles-artistleaderbest-daughter.html](http://wcageorgia.blogspot.com/2012/04/ann-rowles-artistleaderbest-daughter.html)
- [http://www.soho20gallery.com](http://www.soho20gallery.com)

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