John Douglas Powers (b. Frankfort, Indiana 1978) grew up in Dickson, Tennessee.
He attended Vanderbilt University (B.A. art history, 2001) and The University of Georgia
(M.F.A. sculpture, with distinction, 2008). John is the recipient of a prestigious
Joan Mitchell Foundation MFA Grant as well as the 2008 Southeastern College Art Conference
Individual Artist Fellowship and the 2001 Margaret Stonewall Wooldridge Hambet Award.
He currently lives and works in Birmingham, Alabama where he is Assistant Professor
of Sculpture at The University of Alabama at Birmingham.
EDUCATION
2008
MFA The University of Georgia, Lamar Dodd School of Art, Athens, Georgia
2001
BA Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee
AWARDS, GRANTS AND SCHOLARSHIPS
2009
Juror's Choice Award, Kentucky National 2009
Excellence in Graduate Research Award, The University of Georgia
2008
Joan Mitchell Foundation MFA Grant recipient
SECAC Individual Artist Fellowship
International Sculpture Center Student Achievement Award Honorable Mention
The Dean's Award, The University of Georgia
Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant, The University of Georgia
2007
John D. and Marilyn Kehoe Scholarship, $2500 towards study in Cortona, Italy
Winner, Best Animated Short Film, Bald Shorts Film Festival
2006
Willson
Center for the Humanities and Arts Graduate Research and Performance Grant
The University of Georgia. A $1000 grant for research materials
Graduate Teaching Assistantship, The University of Georgia
2005
Recruiting Assistantship, The University of Georgia
2004
Art
Concierge Award, North American Sculpture Exhibition, Golden, Colorado
* Juried by James Surls
2001
Margaret
Stonewall Wooldridge Hamblet Award, a $17,000 grant for travel, study, and
production of artwork
* Juried by Sam Gilliam and Dean Snyder
Selected as cover artist for “The Vanderbilt Review,” Volume XVII
EXHIBITIONS
2009
ArtPrize, The Old Federal Building, Grand Rapids, Michigan (September 23-October 8)
The 2008 SECAC Artist's Fellowship Recipient Exhibition, Space 301, Mobile, Alabama (Solo--September 11-November 8)
Inspired By Motion, Swan Coach House Gallery, Atlanta, Georgia (August 13-September 26)
Remember, Cultural Arts Gallery, The University of North Carolina, Wilmington (solo--August 20-September 18)
Joan Mitchell Foundation 2008 MFA Grant Recipients, Cue Art Foundation, New York, New York (June 11-July 31)
Re:Collection, Snow Gallery, Nashville, Tennessee (solo--January 24-March 6)
Kentucky National 2009, The Clara M. Eagle Gallery, Murray Kentucky
* Juried by Mark Masuoka
* Juror's Choice Award
2008
Master of Fine Arts Degree Candidates Exhibition, The Georgia Museum of Art, Athens, Georgia
Mad Zoo People, Clayton Street Gallery, Athens, Georgia
La Mostra: Cortona Reunion Exhibition, Lamar Dodd School of Art Courtyard Gallery, Athens, Georgia
2007
Convergence, Lamar Dodd School of Art Courtyard Gallery, Athens, Georgia
Random Narrative Experiments, William J. Thompson Gallery, Athens, Georgia
La Mostra, Museo dell'Accademia Etrusca, Cortona, Italy
Me Bike, Westergasterrein, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Volume I, Lamar Dodd School of Art Main Gallery, Athens, Georgia (solo)
Opening The Music Box, Cine, Athens, Georgia—Collaboration with Andrea Trombetta
Sculpture
Eyedrum, Eyedrum Gallery, Atlanta, Georgia
* Juried by Bill Spence and Corrina Mensoff
2006
SECAC/MACAA
Members Exhibition, The Parthenon Museum, Nashville, Tennessee
* Juried by Eleanor Heartney
Remember, Athens Institute for Contemporary Art, Athens, Georgia (solo)
Vanderbilt Alumni Show, E. Bronson Ingram Studio Arts Center, Nashville, Tennessee
Music Box, Floorspace, Athens, Georgia—Collaboration with Andrea Trombetta
31st
Juried Exhibition, Lyndon House Arts Center, Athens, Georgia
* Juried by William Fagaly
2005
The
Down East Sculpture Exhibition, Emerge Gallery, Greenville, North Carolina
* Juried by Tom Grubb
And Yet And Yet, William J. Thompson Gallery, Athens, Georgia (two person)
Hamblet Reunion Show, Sarratt Gallery, Nashville, Tennessee
2004
North
American Sculpture Exhibition, Foothills Art Center, Golden, Colorado
* Juried by James Surls
* Art Concierge Award
The
31st Annual Juried Competition, Masur Museum of Art, Monroe, Louisiana
* Juried by Randall Griffey
6th
Renaissance Regional Art Exhibition, Renaissance Center, Dickson, Tennessee
* Juried by Bob Kucher
52nd
Midstates Art Exhibition, Evansville Museum, Evansville, Indiana
* Juried by Michael Bergt
2003
12th Ave. Arts Collective Annual Show, 1212 12th Ave., Nashville, Tennessee
Kinetic Diagrams, Vanderbilt University Fine Arts Gallery, Nashville, Tennessee (solo)
A Natural History, Antics Gallery, Nashville, Tennessee (two person)
2002
A Collection of Local Artist’s Work, 1212 12th Ave., Nashville, Tennessee
2001
Hamblet
Award Competition, Cohen Building, Nashville, Tennessee
* Juried by Sam Gilliam and Dean Snyder
SCREENINGS AT FILM FESTIVALS
2007
CamboFest: Siem Reap Edition, Siem Reap (Angkor Wat City), Cambodia
D.C. Shorts Film Festival, Landmark E Street Cinema, Washington, DC
CamboFest, Venue-X, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
3rd
Annual Bald Shorts Film Festival, Georgia College and State University,
Milledgeville, Georgia
* Winner Best Animated Short
2006
3rd Annual Secret City Film Festival, Oakridge Community Playhouse, Oakridge, Tennessee
VISITING ARTIST LECTURES
2008
The
University of Oklahoma Weitzenhofer School of Art, Norman, Oklahoma
Presentation on my research to faculty and students
The
University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama
Presentation on my research to faculty and students
2007
Gainesville
State College, Gainesville, Georgia
Presentation on my work to Instructor Jenn Manzella's Art Appreciation classes
The
University of Georgia Studies Abroad Program, Cortona, Italy
Presentation on my sculpture and animation to study abroad students and
faculty
2005
The
University of North Carolina, Wilmington
Presentation on my work to Associate Professor Amy Kirschke’s 20th
Century Art History class
COLLECTIONS
Vanderbilt University, Sarratt Visual Arts Center, Permanent Collection
Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital, two sculptures on permanent
public display
Ann Frisch, private collection, Charlotte, North Carolina
Russell Love, private collection, Nashville, Tennessee
Chris Carlson, private collection, London, England
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Cynthia Adams, "John Powers: Visual Echoes Invoke His Art,"
The University of Georgia Graduate School Magazine, Winter 2009, Volume 4, Number 1
MiChelle Jones, "John Douglas Powers' Kinetic Sculpture Taps Into Memories," The Tennessean, Jan. 18, 2009
"UAB Professor of Sculpture John Powers Assembles 'Remember,'" UAB News Blazercast, Dec. 23, 2008
Beth Sale, "Redefinition," Flagpole, Apr. 11, 2007
Beth Sale, "Designing a New Reality," Flagpole Apr. 4, 2007
Cathy Fox, "Sprawling Sculpture Feast Exudes Grass-Roots Charm,"
Atlanta Journal- Constitution, Jan 28, 2007
Beth Sale, "Best of the Local Scene," Flagpole, Feb. 22, 2006
Alan Bostick, "Power Mechanics," The Tennessean, Dec. 22
CONFERENCES
2008
Mid-America College Art Association Annual Conference, Indianapolis, Indiana
* Panelist for "Look Ma, No Hands," Chaired by Michael Aurbach
Annual Southeast College Art Conference, New Orleans, Louisiana
* Panelist for "Bad Art Gone Good," Chaired by Marita Gootee
2006
Annual
Southeast College Art Conference, Nashville, Tennessee
* Panelist for Top Ten Art School Gripes, chaired by Carl Billingsley and
David Feinberg
