Emma Kathleen Hepburn Ferrer was born in Morges, Switzerland and grew up in Florence, Italy where her conscience became replete with a visceral exposure to Medieval and Renaissance iconography as well as artists who were active in Florence in later centuries. Among the artists whose practice she was engaged with from a young age are Rosso Fiorentino and Jacopo da Pontormo. Ferrer also developed a fascination with Italian ‘Arte Moderna’, researching and traveling Italy to view the collections of Italian Macchiaioli painters such as Telemaco Signorini and Giovanni Fattori. As a young painter, Ferrer also spent extensive time in Spain where she became drawn to Francisco de Zurbaràn and Symbolist painter Julìo Romero de Torres. Among her other strong influences are Goya, Giorgio de Chirico, Edvard Munch, and Swiss painters Arnold Böcklin and Félix Vallotton.

Early in her artistic career Ferrer pursued a classical education in drawing and painting. One of the youngest students ever accepted into the academy, at 18 years of age Ferrer enrolled in the Advanced Painting program at the Florence Academy of Art, a traditional atelier where she would be imbued in the techniques and theories of the great masters. There, Ferrer undertook exhaustive studies from of the live figure, studying human anatomy in depth as well as becoming fluent in classical methods and materials in drawing, painting, and sculpture. Upon finishing school, Ferrer moved to New York to begin working in art, politics, and film. While living in New York, Ferrer worked for two leading contemporary art galleries, Eric Firestone Gallery and Sapar Contemporary, the latter at which she also had an active curatorial practice. From there, Ferrer became interested in politics, working as Administrative Director of a Democratic Cultural Super PAC; Downtown For Democracy, assisting with the curation, sales, and exhibitions of major artworks sold for political fundraising. After this, Ferrer worked in short film and music video production, before she would return to live, work, and continue her studies at her home in Camaiore, Italy. 

Throughout the course of her education and professional years she has been mentored by, studied under, and worked for artists such as Vincent Desiderio, Golucho, Will Cotton, Cynthia Talmadge, Ivan Theimer, and Emanuele Giannelli. She has curated and assistant-curated the works of Zac Posen, Manolo Blahnik, 24th, 25th, and 28th Venice Biennale artist Eugenio Pardini, and Sofia Cacciapaglia for institutions such as Sapar Contemporary in New York City and Museo Caja Granada in Granada, Spain.

Ferrer has also worked closely with non-profit organizations including UNICEF and UNHCR, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, traveling to Syrian and Afghan refugee camps in Greece. She has published writing on topics as varied as art history to the state of children’s welfare in war-torn countries with publications such as VICE and UNHCR’s donor newsletter.

Ferrer now lives and works in the mountains in Italy, where her work is inspired by the solitude, customs, and rituals of her region. She is an assistant to an artisan at the Fonderia Francesco Mutti at the Vicolo degli Artigiani in Pietrasanta, Italy, a multi-material artistic foundry where she helps produce major sculptural works in bronze, resin, ceramics, and 3d-printing. At present, she is also studying to receive her Masters in Fine Art from Central Saint Martins.

Rhode Island School of Design, Pre-College, 2010

Pratt Institute, Pre-College, 2011 

The Florence Academy of Art, Certificate in Advanced Drawing and Painting, 2012-2016

Harvard University, Undergraduate Studies in History of Film, Classics, Academic Writing, Philosophy of Religion, 2021

SUNY Empire State College, BA in Visual Arts, 2022

Central Saint Martins, MA Fine Art: Digital, 2022-2024