John Powell: The Ellipse Series

The New England School of Art & Design at Suffolk University
75 Arlington Street Boston, MA 02116
Gallery Phone (617) 573-8785
http://www.suffolk.edu/nesad/gallery

Gallery hours: Monday-Friday 8 am-10 pm
Saturday 9am-6pm, Sunday 12-5
Enter from 10 Saint James after 7 pm and on weekends
Exhibit runs September 5th through October 6th 2007
Reception with the artist Thursday September 6th 6-8 pm

This exhibit is free and open to the public.
The NESADSU Gallery is accessible by the MBTA Arlington St. Green Line stop.

John Powell: The Ellipse Series opens at NESADSU Gallery
For its first show in the fall 2007 season, The New England School of Art & Design at Suffolk University presents John Powell: The Ellipse Series. Curated by interim NESADSU gallery director James Manning, the exhibit runs September 5th through October 6th 2007. There will be a public reception with the artist on Thursday September 6th from 6-8pm. The Ellipse Series features a new series of prints as well as an ambitious site specific projected light installation. The digital prints in this show are of manipulated abstract colored light projections that Powell created in his studio. To compliment this work, the artist has created a new lighting installation using the architectural details of the NESADSU gallery space. The installation is particularly interesting as it involves the audience as part of the artistic process. There will be four projectors with ellipsoidal shapes aimed at the ceiling, from four spots in the gallery. Each projector will be attached to a motion sensor. The only time the whole image will be projected is when all four sensors are activated. That will be harder than it seems, as each will have a slightly different delay time.
John Powell’s work involves creating an interesting dialogue with architectural structures and environments. About this new work Powell states: “This body of work is derived from digital photographs of abstract light projections. The imagery is then distorted in a way that simulates projection through a very small lense with a strong light source--a fish eye lense. The projection on the ceiling approximates the source lighting.”
Powell uses the power of projected light to turn a space, such as an ordinary wall, in to a canvas, where he can project colors and shapes to create art and a deeper meaning. Powell sees light as more than just a means to light up spaces, it is a tool integral to accentuating the essence of an architectural space. Over the course of his long career he has worked with a wide range of light based media ranging from holography, fire and light projections in a variety of settings from the sides of buildings to under bridges and underwater.
John Powell has a MSVS from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and is a founding member of the Reclamation Artists. Powell has exhibited extensively both in galleries and in public spaces. His work includes the permanent lighting installation of the Evelyn Moakley Bridge in the Fort Point Channel and the lighting for three bridges on the Charles River – the Larz Anderson Bridge, the Weeks Memorial footbridge, the Western Avenue Bridge and soon the River Street Bridge. Recent gallery exhibits have included solo exhibits at the Howard Yezerski Gallery, Boston and the Starr Gallery at the Leventhal-Sidman Jewish Community Center in Newton, MA. His long list of public commissions has included installations at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, the Charlottenborg Exhibition Hall in Copenhagen, Denmark, the Boston Public Library, Boston City Hall and First Night Boston.

(Above right, untitled, "from the Ellipse series" abstract light projections 2007)