Stephen Powers was born and raised and Philadelphia, then moved to New York City in 1994. After stints as publisher of On the Go Magazine, author of the book The Art Of Getting Over, and full-time graffiti writer, Powers opened his studio practice in Janurary of 1998. Since then he has shown at The
Institute of Contemporary Art in Philadelphia, Deitch Projects, The 49th Venice Bienalle, and The Luggage Store in San Francisco. In 2003, He founded the Dreamland Artist Club and partnered with Creative Time to commission over 45 artists to paint signs and rides in Coney Island. His book of pop art short stories, First And Fifteenth, was published by Villard in 2005. As a Fulbright Scholar, Powers painted a love story in the streets of Dublin and Belfast in the spring of 2008. In August 2008, again teaming up with Creative Time, he opened The Waterboard Thrill Ride, an animatronic depiction of waterboarding in Coney Island. He lives and works in Manhattan.

CV

Born in Philadelphia, USA
Lives and works in Manhattan, New York


EDUCATION

1990-1992
University of the Arts Philadelphia, PA, USA


AWARDS

2007
Fulbright Fellowship


SELECTED SOLO EXHIBTIONS

2012
A Word is Worth a Thousand Pictures, Joshua Liner Gallery, New York, NY

2011
Days, V1 Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark

2009
2 Fits of Iron and a Bottle of Beer, White Flag Projects, St. Louis, MI
Semaphores of the Soul, ALICE Gallery, Brussels, Belgium

2008
Separating Light From Dark, Patricia Armocida Gallery, Milan, Italy
Signarama, Deitch Projects at Art Basel, Miami, FL
A True Provider Is Good To Find, Colette, Paris, France

2007
Sleep and Repeat, V1 Gallery, Copenhagen, Demark
The Magic Word, The Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art, Philadelphia, PA

2005
ESPO Bakery, Deitch Projects, The Armory Show, New York, NY

2004
My List Of Demands, Deitch Projects, New York, NY

2003
3 Story Building, Alleged Annex, Los Angeles, CA


SELECTED GROUP EXHIBTIONS

2011
Volta, V1 Gallery, Basel, Switzerland
Art in the Streets, The Geffen Contemporary, MOCA, Los Angeles, CA
Status- Somewhere Between Position and Condition, V1 Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark
Summer Group Exhibition, Joshua Liner Gallery, New York, NY

2010
Art Copenhagen, V1 Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark
Transfer, curated by Lucas Ribero at Brazilian Cultural Pavilion, Sao Paulo, Brazil

2009
The New Yorkers, V1 Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark

2008
L´attraction De La Boue, Street Exhibition, Colette, Paris, France

2007
Lots Of Things Like This, curated by Dave Eggers, Apex Art, New York, NY

2005
Love Letters (with Joe Armhein and Tauba Auerbach), Luggage Store Gallery, San Francisco, CA

2004
Beautiful Losers, Contemporary Art Center, Cincinnati, OH (exhibition traveled to Yerba Buena ArtCenter, San Francisco, CA; Orange County Museum of Art, Newport Beach, CA; Triennale di Milano, Milan, Italy; Le Tri Postal, Lille, France)

2002
Session The Bowl, Deitch Projects, New York, NY


SPECIAL PROJECTS

2010
Volto Ja (I'll Be Back), Led five artists in engaging the Bom Retiro community to paint a mural that depicted the names of the residents of the neighborhood in Sao Paulo, Brazil
Love Letter For Syracuse, Led 10 artists to engage the Near West Side community and paint a love letter across three train bridges in Syracuse, NY. Sponsored by Syracuse University

2009
A Love Letter For You, Led over 20 artists to paint a love letter across 50 walls in West Philadelphia. A collaboration with The Mural Arts Program sponsored by the Pew Center for Arts & Heritage

2008
Waterboard Thrill Ride, Part of Creative Time's Democracy In America Exhibition, Coney Island, NY

2005
Service, (Canal Street Raincoat Project). Created raincoats for flyer touts on busy street in New York City, NY

2004
Dreamland Artist Club, Creative Time, New York, NY
Co-curated and participated in project where over 40 artists painted signs and attractions in New York landmark Coney Island

2001
Point Of Purchase, with Barry McGee and Todd James, Parco Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
Street Market, 49th Venice Biennial (with Barry McGee and Todd James) Venice, Italy
5000 Trees, with Cheryl Dunn, Jacqueline Humphries and Tony Oursler, Luggage Store Gallery, San Francisco, CA

2000
Street Market, with Barry McGee and Todd James, Deitch Projects, New York, NY
Indelible Market, with Barry McGee and Todd James, curated by Alex Baker, Institute Of Contemporary Art, University Of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA


COMMISIONS

2002
Waylon/Saul, Henry Moore Foundation, Liverpool, UK
Included in the 2002 Liverpool Biennial International Exhibition, Liverpool, UK
Power Of Art, Artworks, Cincinnati, OH
Created a narrative painting series for the Adolescent Care Clinic of The Cincinnati Children's Hospital while teaching teens in a studio setting


LECTURES

2005
The Art Of Public Service. The Service Of Public Art, Harvard Graduate School Of Education Cambridge, MA

2003
The Story So Far, Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh, PA


PUBLISHED WORKS

2010
Love Letter. Brick Valentines On The Philly Skyline, Free News Projects, Philadelphia

2007
Studio Gangster, (catalog) Gingko Press

2006
First And Fifteenth Pop Art Short Stories, Villard, New York (Author)

2003
Stuck On The Map, Dan Murphy, Mark Surface Intl., New York (Publisher)

1999
The Art Of Getting Over, St. Martin’s Press, New York (Author)

1989-1997
On The Go Magazine, Philadelphia & New York (Publisher, Editor)


SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY

Wonderwalls, Ivan Solotaroff The Guardian April 18, 2010 p. 17
Love Letters to Philadelphia, Candace Jackson Wall Street Journal August 28, 2009, p. B1
Coney Island Sideshow Has Guantanamo Theme, Ariel Kaminer, New York Times, August 5th, 2008, p. D1
Still Painting Messages On Walls But No Longer An Outlaw, Niko Koppel, New York Times, May 29, 2008 p. B1 "Slicker Price," Rob Walker, New York Times Magazine, October 30, 2005, p. 17
Flash, Dash, and Now, Art, Randy Kennedy, New York Times, June 17, 2005 p. D1
Best Of 2001, Vince Aletti, Artforum, December, 2001, p. 92