DEMOREST - A field of reeds waving in the breeze, a mechanical clock, and the sound of a thousand voices—all of these impressions come together for noted sculptor John Douglas Powers, whose newest work, “Locus,” is on display now through Dec. 14 at the Piedmont College Mason-Scharfenstein Museum of Art in Demorest.
The exhibit includes a large kinetic sculpture that incorporates hundreds of golden reeds powered by a series of interlocking levers and shafts. “Locus, by definition refers to a central source, but in mathematics means the set of all points, lines, orsurfaces that satisfy a given requirement,” said museum director Daniel White. “This applies well to Powers’ work, which goes beyond the pedestal to create kinetic sculptures that effortlessly take on a life of their own. This show will feature brand new work by Powers, who is using this venue as a testing ground for new ideas,” White said.
A free reception and gallery talk by the artist will be held from 5–7 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 5, at the MSMA, located at 567 Georgia Street, Demorest. Regular museum hours are 9 a.m.–5 p.m., Monday through Saturday. For more information, contact director Daniel White at [email protected] or call 706-894-4201. A video of Powers’ work is available atwww.john-powers.com/about.html.
Originally from Indiana, Powers lives and works in Knoxville and is an assistant professor of sculpture at the University of Tennessee. His intricately mechanical works have been exhibited nationally at venues including Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, the MIT Museum, the Mariana Kistler Beach Museum of Art, the Huntsville Museum of Art, the Wiregrass Museum of Art, the Alexander Brest Museum, the Masur Museum, the Gadsden Museum of Art, Jonathan Ferrara Gallery, Brenda Taylor Gallery, the Georgia Museum of Art, the Vero Beach Museum of Art and the Cue Art Foundation.
Powers studied art history at Vanderbilt University and earned his MFA in sculpture, with distinction, at the University of Georgia. His work has been featured in The New York Times, World Sculpture News, Sculpture Magazine, Art Forum, The Huffington Post, Art in America, The Boston Globe and on CBS News Sunday Morning. He is the recipient of the 2013 Virginia A. Groot Foundation Award, a Joan Mitchell Foundation MFA Grant as well as a Southeastern College Art Conference Individual Artist Fellowship, an Alabama State Council on the Arts Fellowship, and the Margaret Stonewall Wooldridge Hamblet Award.
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