Just as most creatives are forgotten, Suzi Ferrer’s name and artwork were confined to the storage closets of history. Cornell’s Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art presents this legendary artist’s brief yet prolific time on the art stage.
The exhibition, set to run from Jan. to June of 2025, showcases the profundity of Ferrer’s work. In doing so, the exhibit demonstrates how the twin themes of second-wave feminism and gender roles manifest in society through dissentient artwork. The Johnson Museum masterfully presents a dazzling array of the artist’s unique works. The careful curation of this exhibit allows us to rethink Suzi Ferrer as a woman whose artwork conveys vital themes — ones that remain strikingly relevant to today’s political panorama.
Upon entering the exhibit, themes of bodily autonomy and the Second Wave feminist movement hit close to home. The exhibit inspires Ferrer’s generation to reminisce on the rights they gained and our generation to visualize the retrograde motion of society today. Ferrer’s motivating work displays the rights our foremothers fought and died for and the sanctity of these endangered protections.
Upon first entering the exhibition, I was transported to 1960s Puerto Rico, engulfed by feminist themes applicable to almost anywhere in the world. This immersion is done both through the breathtaking art and distinctive exhibition design. I had the honor of discussing the curation process and Ferrer’s life with her son and proud Cornell alum, Miguel Ferrer, and curator Melissa Ramos Borges.
As a young American Jewish woman living in Puerto Rico, Ferrer felt ostracized. She challenged the fallacies held about her identity through dramatic, evocative imagery in her artwork. As Miguel remarked, her art reflected her identity because it was intense — she wanted people to engage, question society and push back in a nonconformist manner. Ferrer confronts the preconceived notions about sex and desire and invites us to do the same.
While other female artists explored similar ideas through paintings hung on a wall, Ferrer was ahead of her time. She selected distinctive mediums and cunningly incorporated the space and sounds to communicate socially relevant themes. For example, she drew provocative silhouettes on plexiglass, boldly hanging them from the ceiling to comment on the subjugation of the female body — a particularly awe-inspiring work I came across in the exhibit.
Besides educating us on recurrent themes of femininity, the exhibition beautifully embodies the circle of life. The very campus we complain about daily was where she first began to pursue painting. Miguel shared that despite all the beautiful journeys his mother took, it all came back to Cornell — the place where she became an original thinker. Her work allows Cornellians to see the evolutionary power of attending such an institution.
For Melissa Ramos Borges, as an art historian, curating this exhibit before even acquiring the works was an act of pure faith. That’s simply the effect Ferrer had on people. Ferrer's artwork was from a time and place that challenged hegemonic art discourse, yet she seamlessly weaves political discourse into unique mediums. Ferrer was navigating the currents of being a woman and foreigner in Puerto Rico. Despite the misperceptions held about her identity, she defined herself in the art landscape. And, through her art, redefined womanhood.
Today, the art world is undergoing an indispensable renaissance, bridging the gender gap by integrating female artists into the landscape. As a woman who always had something to say, Suzi Ferrer creatively strung her emotions together in a deliberate creative process to empower the buried feminine emotion within us all. The profound reinstatement of Ferrer’s work speaks volumes. At the heart of the Johnson Museum, we can find her voice and hear the words confined to storage closets, suturing her observations into a broader discussion of women’s rights at a time when the female body is politically contested.
As her son and Ramos Borges both said, they hope people will walk out of this exhibition saying “That’s fucking cool.” I certainly did. Take some time out of your prelim-ridden week to visit the museum’s conversation on Suzi’s life on April 17, 2025 and the open house on April 18, 2025. The Johnson Museum is resolutely allowing the world to rediscover one of art history’s greatest forgotten figures — and, trust me, it’s beyond “fucking cool.”
Ava Tafreshi is a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences. She can be reached at ant63@cornell.edu.
