Jack Powell

Open Studio Hours

TUES: 10-5
WED: 10-2 & 5-8
THURS: 10-5
FRI: 10-2
SAT:10-2

Like a distorted reflection of his life experience, Jack Powell has the tendency to manufacture chaos so that he can sift and sort it into something beautiful. He is an assemblage artist at heart who grew up around computers and thus gravitated toward work in the digital realm specializing in a self-taught style of animated digital collage. A collector of not-so-fine things, he finds great joy in perusing trash piles and frequenting flea markets as well as sifting through endless public domain imagery in the vast digital space. Beyond the processes of collection, he is a prolific tinkerer with an intense focus, sharp attention to detail and unwavering discipline that has allowed him to finish large complicated projects. Obsessed with textures, both natural and human-made, he’s constantly pulling from a massive digital library that he has collected over the years, its contents ranging from blank papers and endsheets to concrete, stone, bark, fungus and anything else that catches his eye. His approach detaches old imagery from its historical context and injects new emotional meaning by weaving these anachronistic fragments into wildly original tales. Sometimes deep and compelling, often light and even preposterous, Powell’s art is spun together with allegory, humor, and subtle social commentary that feels profoundly clever but also approachable and unpretentious.

Having worked in and around the music industry for nearly 20 years creating marketing collateral with an emphasis on expediency, Powell took time during the pandemic to refocus his energy into more intentional work driven by emotional response rather than promotional considerations and tight deadlines. In 2020 he started Opus Thimble, LLC to represent himself visually and founded his recording project Hot Mustard in musical collaboration with renowned musicians from Brooklyn to Long Beach.

Artist Statement: 

As a multimedia artist and storyteller, my aim is to evoke joy—an essential value in our lives. I believe joy serves as an important contrast to the challenges we face. Not every piece may radiate happiness, and I occasionally explore darker themes, but I consider the joy my work brings an important measure of success, which can be traced to my background in live music.
By incorporating humor and allegory, I craft narratives that invite reflection with a playful twist. My goal is to create thought-provoking experiences that celebrate the complexities of the human experience and highlight the joy that we strive to carve out of our individual pains.
A common style of contemporary video installation seeks impact through sensory overload. While I can appreciate that intensity, it often feels chaotic, like being caught in a storm. I strive to create experiences that resemble a peaceful porch session, where one can watch an approaching storm from a distance as an Orb Weaver spins its web and House Geckos hunt the glowing fixtures.