Exhibit Description
The goal of my artwork is to create balance between people. I travel the world and work with various communities to understand the history and the people in it. My work is about the stories of people; of you and me and our collective history. I try to find the balance between all people; the points at which we all meet as human beings on an equal level of understanding. Throughout my career, I have found that beneath our diverse cultural and religious traditions there lies an interweaving of many universal similarities of shared joys, fears and expressions of love and affection.
Artist Biography
“JP” Jermaine Powell is a North Carolina based mixed-media designer, public artist, and locally known as a “luxury art specialist”. Originally from Cleveland, Ohio, JP holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Pratt Institute, located in Brooklyn, New York. His paintings and public art projects explore the complexities of human relationships, diversity and community in regards to materialism, and consumerism. As a world traveler, JP’s travel experiences have inspired the use of various luxury objects featured in his artwork. Both American and international currencies are often featured symbolically in his three dimensional paintings. In his Modern Currency and Pure Luxury Collections (2018-2023, JP also uses bold, colorful textures, flowers, patterns, and mosaic tile. JP was recently named the North Carolina Museum Of Art’s Artist In Residence. JP’s artwork, Imagine Love/Show Me Love, has also been featured in the North Carolina Museum Of Art, Raleigh Magazine, The Harvey B. Gantt Center For African American Art & Culture, Duke University, Hayti Heritage Center, Art Space Galleries, RaleighArts, The City of Durham, and the DurhamArtGuild Just recently, JP was formally announced as the recipient of the 2023 VAE Raleigh’s Margot Richter Legacy Award.