Speaker Series - Irene Ferri, Form and Function

Irene Ferri was born in Cambridge, when her father came to study Architecture at MIT, while her mother worked as a photographer and fabric artist, creating quilts and tapestry. Her family which is mostly Roman Italian comes from a long lineage of artists and architects. She grew up traveling between her native Rome, London, and Cambridge. In Italy, Ferri’s grandfather, Lorenzo Ferri, a famous sculptor in Rome, mentored her from a very young age in his studio. Irene grew up surrounded by arts and culture, having her first encounter with woodworking at the age of 13, when her father would let her use the bandsaw to make dollhouse furniture. She studied Graphic Design at the Istituto Europeo di Design working as a freelance layout editor and Graphic Designer at the FAO United Nations in Rome. In her mid-twenties, she returned to work at her father’s wood shop, in the countryside of Rome where she learned her design skills, creating project drawings for clients, and working with a team in the fabrication process. During her stay in her father’s workshop, Ferri discovered and fell in love with the work of Judy Kensley McKie, leading to the discovery that she could marry form and function, and that furniture can be art, and she never looked back. She is currently based in Cambridge and has her studio at the Artisan’s Asylum where she continues to design, explore and create, immersed in searching for the functionality of design combined with the whimsical aspects of fine and contemporary art.

Irene will be showing her new work using wood and color pencils to create intricate assemblages that will integrate furniture pieces she is currently designing at the Social Area display wall.

She will talk about her trajectory as a designer and artist, her practice and her experience learning woodworking from her father as well as being surrounded by creatives growing up.

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The Artisan’s Asylum Speaker Series seeks to engage our community and inspire us to make the world we want to see. All events are free for members and Friends of Artisan’s and we kindly suggest a $10 donation from the public to support our FREE public programs.

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