Carl Powell, artist
By Lauren Stepp
Carl Powell’s art career didn’t begin in a studio or a classroom—it began in a creek in Macon, Georgia. As a fourth-grader, he dedicated many afternoons to observing muddy water through a microscope, captivated by what most people would never think to notice.
“I spent hours looking at all the incredible organisms from our scum water creek with thousands of interesting shapes moving and darting around,” says Powell.
That attention to subtle shifts in light and motion anchors Carl Powell: 50 Years of Glass & Photography. Opening Saturday, February 21, from 2–5 p.m., at Grovewood Gallery, the retrospective brings together Powell’s glass sculptures and photographs, offering a rare, side-by-side look at two practices that have informed one another for half a century.
Carl Powell, artist
The artist says his fascination with photography began in 1968, when he took his first darkroom class at Georgia Southwestern State University. From that point forward, the camera became a constant companion, documenting everything from his travels in Ecuador to crowds of fans grieving John Lennon’s death in Austin, Texas.
After transferring to Georgia State University in Atlanta to continue studying art, Powell got a job at a stained-glass studio. He later moved to Austin, TX, where he worked in another studio and began pushing the medium in new directions, “developing techniques nobody else had tried.”
His work during this period led to a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, a turning point that opened new doors. Soon enough, Powell caught the attention of pioneering glass artist Dale Chihuly, who invited him to teach at the Pilchuck Glass School near Seattle. “Dale had never seen glasswork like mine,” says Powell.
For his retrospective at Grovewood Gallery, Powell will intentionally place glass and photography in conversation. He says many of his glass pieces are informed by his decades of photographic practice, particularly his black-and-white negatives, which he sees as compositional studies in light and shadow. “These negatives began looking like little stained glass pieces to me,” he says.
On view through April 5, the exhibition marks a significant milestone for the local arts community. “Carl has been a resident artist here at Grovewood since 1999, and watching his work grow and evolve over the years has been incredibly meaningful to all of us,” says Ashley Van Matre, marketing director. “We’re deeply honored to present this body of work and excited to welcome the public into this moment with him.”
Grovewood Gallery is located at 111 Grovewood Road, adjacent to and below the Omni Grove Park Inn in Asheville. Gallery hours are Monday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. To learn more, visit Grovewood.com or call 828.214.7768.
