Jason Powell-Smith has turned an eye to society’s competitive nature. All around us, everyday, people are competing, and we may not even notice it. Sure, athletes are the obvious reference – and Jason creates a number of text drawings noting this – but what about ethics – like “good versus evil” or “us versus them”? Powell-Smith wryly tackles many of the arenas in which our competitive nature battles.
Places are important to Jason, who regularly expresses pride in being a Bay Area native, saying “I like the Bay Area because it’s where I grew up.” Bus lines and BART stations remind Jason of specific TV shows and movies which reappear throughout Jason’s art works.
Printmaking is an important new skill Jason has learned while working at NIAD. Jason credits facilitator Bill Zindel as a significant influence on his printmaking creative process. Jason says he likes working at NIAD because you can work on what you want, wherever you want, however you want.
// Jason’s available work //
exhibition history
Roses are Red, or, See what Kitty can do without fighting the war? organized by Liam Golden // NIAD Online Exhibition // August 2023
Lemon Art Work, organized by Seymour Polatin // NIAD Online Exhibition // July 2023
an echo carries texture // organized by Steph Kudisch // NIAD Online Exhibition // June 2023
Into the Brightness: Artists from Creativity Explored, Creative Growth & NIAD // Oakland Museum of California // May 2023
Art of the African Diaspora 2023 Satellite Exhibition // Warehouse 416, Oakland // February 2023
Puzzles In Print organized by Delilah Ponton // NIAD Online Exhibition // February 2023
Larger Than Life: S/Heroes, GOATs, and Other Legends organized by Zoya Kocur // NIAD Online Exhibition // February 2023
Art of the African Diaspora 2023 by Richmond Art center// January – March 2023
NIAD Ink: 35 Years of Prints organized by Andrés Cisneros-Galindo // NIAD Online Exhibition // December 2022
A Stick In The Snow organized by Joanna and Milo Moyer-Battick // NIAD Online Exhibition // October 2022
Blow Like Magic In Their Face And Vanish organized by James Sterling Pitt // October 2022
Question Mark, organized by Betsy Odom // NIAD Online Exhibition // August 2022
Can’t Be Shook, organized by Alex Gartelmann // NIAD Online Exhibition // April 2022
WIN WIN 10 Silent Auction Preview Exhibition // NIAD Gallery Exhibition // February 2022
Eternal Idol, curated by Emily Harris // NIAD Online Exhibition // February 2022
Holiday Gift Guide #5, organized by Dawline-Jane Oni-Eseleh // NIAD Online Exhibition // December 2021
Stories, organized by B. Wurtz // NIAD Online Exhibition // November 2021
The Art Of Resilience: Black Artists Surviving And Thriving In The Bay Area // ACCI Gallery, Berkeley // 2020
Championship Belt, organized by Deatra Colbert and Ann Meade // Mule Gallery, San Francisco // 2019
Ether Here Nor There: Anthony Grant x NIAD // NIAD Gallery Exhibition // 2019
Collective Memory: NIAD, organized by Hannah P. Mode // NIAD Art Center // February 2019