Artist Profile: Rosy Petri

Rosy Petri is a self taught artist that primarily works with raw edge, appliqué-style quilting. She also incorporates printmaking, photography and oral history, multimedia storytelling that invites participants more deeply into conversations about collective liberation. Inspired by the sacred art and architecture of churches and cathedrals, Rosy creates contemporary iconography seasoned with Black history, music and culture. Part autobiography, part documentary, her work is about self-discovery, history, and radical Black Joy.

For Rosy, it has been important to acknowledge that her ancestors are the descendants of the survivors of the middle passage. And through art, she hopes to honor the ancestors (known and forgotten) by carrying on cultural traditions as they have manifested in her life. Rosy’s work is an offering of rhythm, color, and celebration for them.

1) What are the challenges and triumphs you have experienced in regard to being a professional artist?

First, I have to say I feel very blessed to be making art right now. I’m doing what I love, making beautiful things and exploring ideas. Every experiment is an opportunity to learn; and my studio feels part lab, part library. There are days where it’s tough to produce. Projects are filled with uncertainty, especially with the pandemic making it difficult to coordinate shows, talks and patron engagement. The additional labor of digital presentation and admin eat up critical hours I would rather spend elbow-deep in fabric, but they are necessary parts of the business at this time. There are also some days where the one-two punch of anxiety and existential dread zap any confidence I may have to explore. I’ve come to accept that as part of the process, and spend “down days” letting my mind wander and dream. All in all, the experience of being an artist is full of wonder.

2) What words accurately reflect themes explored in your art?
I prefer to use words like witness, scribe or illuminate. The work is about seeing, recording and sharing—bearing witness—to radiance. My art is as much for me as it is for viewers. I want people to experience history and the present moment intimately, and with a sense of reverence for what has been made possible. Sure, it may be functioning to disrupt or de-colonize, but the primary function is the extraordinary witness of the human spirit.

3) Any work or projects you are looking forward to pursuing or finishing this year?
I’m currently tackling two programs, and these will be central for the remainder of the year. I’ve been selected as a Mary L. Nohl Emerging Artist Fellow, and I’ll spend the year building a multi-disciplinary listening project archive focusing on Black women doing community work. The process involves photographs, audio interviews, illustration, and a series of fabric portraits. I’m also hoping to create a physical archive for the materials—with hope that the community will be able to grow it by sharing their own stories.
The second program is the Dreams to Reality Fund fellowship, a crowdfunding and business incubator through I Fund Women and Caress. I’ve been working with the cohort to launch a crowdfunding campaign to finance an industrial grade long-arm quilting machine, which can cost from $4K- $40K. Right now, I’m doing all of my work on a domestic Brother machine and I’m limited in scale by the parameters of the machine’s capabilities. This year feels a bit like doing a dissertation, but I’m thrilled to be pursuing these goals. And am grateful for the support I have received along the way.

4) Fave installation, exhibition, writing &/or performance by another artist that you've recently encountered?
Two exhibits that I have seen recently have made a lasting impact. “The Black Madonna: Alkemy + the Mystic Soul Mama,” by fellow artist of the year Ammar Nsoroma at 5 Points Gallery and Studios was breathtaking. Ammar’s got this cosmic vision that he can translate over so many materials. I am really in awe of his work. Another from earlier this year that I loved was “366,” a solo exhibition by Bela Suresh Roongta at Var West Gallery. The project started during our residencies at the Pfister Hotel, when we both participated in Var Gallery’s 30x30x30 show. Bela decided to continue her practice of creating a mandala and journal entry every day for the year; and consequently ended up documenting 366 days of life in the pandemic, during political unrest, and social justice. The show consisted of the mandalas posted above a type scroll that wound the perimeter walls of the entire gallery. I wasn’t expecting to have immediate memory of each moment, from the death of George Floyd and the beginning of the protests, followed by the loss of John Lewis to Kamala Harris securing the Vice President nomination. It was powerful. Bela’s also hosted chai through the duration of the exhibit (by having allowed folks to make an appointment for that experience and a viewing).