Faculty & Staff
Rome Art Program offers an internationally-recognized core faculty of working artists, critics, and art historians.
Jill Sarver Rossi
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Executive Director
A Rome Art Program participant in 2009, Jill holds an M.F.A. in Painting from Western Connecticut State University where she studied with Margaret Grimes, Marjorie Portnow, and Riley Brewster. She also has an M.A. in Painting and Drawing from Eastern Illinois University and B.F.A in Painting and B.A. in Spanish from Miami University (Ohio). Jill has 20 years of professional experience in art education, art administration, and curatorial work.
Jill’s work investigates feminine presence, derived from memory and observation of ancient Egyptian and Roman figures and artifacts. Her recent series, “Anonymous,” has been shown in Connecticut and New York City, and is in private collections throughout the US. She is featured in CT Magazine as one of the state’s 5 artists to watch. Her work is represented by First Street Gallery, NYC.
Carole Robb
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Artistic Director
Carole Robb is a painter and her teaching experience includes the New York Studio School, New York, Camberwell School of Art, the Royal College of Art and the Slade School of Fine Art, London, UK.
Winner of the Rome Prize in Painting, Fulbright Scholar, and member of the National Academy, New York; Ms. Robb was born in Scotland and studied painting at the Glasgow School of Art and the University of Reading, England (MFA 1979). She studied with Sir Terry Frost. Robb has worked in Rome, Venice, New York, and London. She is represented by Denise Bibro Gallery, New York. Her work is in both private and public collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; the Victoria and Albert Museum, London; and the Imperial War Museum, London.
Steven Meek
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Painting & Drawing
Born in Dallas, Texas in 1969, Steven received his M.F.A. from Yale University School of Art in 1994. At Yale, he worked closely with the late Andrew Forge and the late William Bailey, along with Mel Bochner, John Walker, Frances Barth, among others. He has lived and worked in Rome, Italy for nearly 30 years. Steven has exhibited in both Europe and the US, where his paintings are included in many collections on both continents.
Frances Middendorf
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Drawing
Frances has a Bachelor’s degree from the Rhode Island School of Design and a Master’s from the School of Visual Arts, NY where she has also taught. Following a 15-year commercial art career working for clients such as The New York Times, Newsweek, and the Vivian Beaumont Theatre at Lincoln Center, Professor Middendorf continued her learning at the New York Studio School. She came to Italy in 1997 to study with painter, Nicholas Carone, and decided to stay. Frances has lived in Florence, has a studio in Umbria, and now resides in Rome and Rhode Island, US. She has exhibited her paintings and drawings in France, New York, and Italy, with solo shows at Denise Bibro Gallery, NY, the Museum Casa Natale di Cesare Pavese in Piedmont, and the National Arts Club, NY. Frances credits her knowledge of drawing to her father and to the New York sculptor/painter, Bruce Gagnier.
Duccio Budassi
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Art History
Born in Rome, Duccio Budassi graduated at “La Terza” University of Rome in Italian literature and philosophy and history of arts with a thesis on counter-reformation ecclesiastical architecture. Deeply connected to the city he has cultivated over the years, his interest is in Rome’s artistic heritage, with a special attention to the urbanistic changes in the Baroque’s era. His experience as an art historian and as a “Cicerone” in Rome has made him especially conscious of how much the experience of the incredibly diversified, cultural heritage of Rome can benefit an artist.
Milos Zahradka Maiorana
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Drawing & Video
Milos is an artist, writer, and curator. Born in Rome, Milos has lived primarily in the United States between San Francisco and New York. He graduated with an M.F.A. in New Genres from the San Francisco Art Institute and went on to receive his Master of Philosophy (MPhil) from the Institute of Doctoral Studies in the Visual Arts. His interests include punk culture, conceptual art, contemporary painting, post-studio art, performance art, sound art, and the overlap between visual and musical aesthetics. He is currently finishing his doctorate at Transart Institute of Creative Research in Berlin with a thesis on the convergence of writing and visual art.
Carlo Moratti
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Rome Correspondent & Editor
Carlo has lived in Rome since graduating in Communications, later moving on to take his Master’s degree. He developed his fine art practice by joining a group of figurative Italian painters. He studied expressionism and realism with Sughi in the 90s, with Rosai and Lorenzo Viani as influences. Carlo also studied at the New York Studio School with British artist Graham Nickson and painted a series of portraits presented at the Brazilian Embassy together with photographs by Sebastiao Salgado, in a thematic exhibition. He has exhibited in many Rome galleries as Laboratorio and Coronari and has participated in numerous group exhibitions in Brazil and China. Carlo also has extensive experience in digital communications and is a member of the Roman Studies Institute.
Gabrielle Lawrence
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Program Manager
From the business world to art world, Gabby brings over 20 years of experience in both non-profit and for-profit sectors. After pursuing art courses in her native Cleveland, Ohio, Gabby has participated in numerous exhibitions and is the recipient of Jerry’s Art-a-rama’s 51st Anniversary Artist Merit & Achievement Award. Her work flows from watercolor and gouache to pastel and acrylic. Gabby studied with Rome Art Program in 2021 and has a passion for international travel.
Vanessa Palomba
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Program Manager – Rome
Vanessa is an artist and educator. Born in England, Vanessa has lived between Italy and the U.K. She graduated in Fine Arts at the Wolverhampton School of Art and obtained a Post Graduate Certificate in Education in Art and Design at Liverpool John Moores University, England. She attended the Scuola Libera del Nudo in Venice, where she was taught by Prof. Alfredo Tigani. She’s been living in Rome for over 10 years and is currently teaching History of Art in English at high school and working in her studio. She has exhibited in Venice, Rome and in the U.K. and her work is included in many collections worldwide.
Visiting Artists, Curators, Critics, & Art Historians have included:
- Michael Ajerman, Artist in London, U.K.
- Arnold Ananicz, Artist in Poland
- Alex Bacon, Curator, Princeton University
- Irene Barberis, Artist teaching at RMIT Australia
- Tristan Barlow, U.S. Artist in London
- Jacopo Benci, Rome Curator and Art Historian
- Denise Bibro, Gallerist, NYC
- Elizabeth Butler, U.S. Art Historian in Florence
- Justin Bradshaw, U.K. Artist in Rome
- Roberto Caracciolo, Artist teaching at NYU in Rome
- Claudia Carr, Artist and Curator, NYC
- Professor Riccardo Dottori, Professor of Philosophy at University of Rome Tor Vergata
- Professor Teresa Dunn, Michigan State University
- Edina Eszenyi, Art Historian, Hungary
- Joanne Freeman, Artist, NYC
- Alan Feltus, U.S. Artist in Italy
- Sue Hubbard, Writer & Art Critic, London
- Brenda Jones, Artist teaching at Iowa State University
- Don Kimes, Artist teaching at American University, Washington, D.C.
- Vivien Lovell, Curator at Modus Operandi, London
- Kiki McGrath, Artist in Chicago
- Peter Miller, U.S. Curator and Art Historian in Rome
- Piero Mottola, Artist teaching at Accademia di Belle Arti di Roma
- Constantino d’Orazio, Art Critic in Rome
- Marco Palmieri, Artist in Rome
- Lucio Pozzi, Artist in U.S. and Italy
- Mark Pulsford, Artist in U.K.
- Calixto Ramirez, Artist in Mexico
- Justin Sayer, Architect in London
- Serafino Amato, Artist in Spoletto, Italy
- Christopher Smith, Classicist, St. Andrews University, Scotland
- Julian Spalding, Artist in London
- Dida Tait, Contemporary Arts Society, London
- John Varriano, Artist, Vassar College, NY