ARTIST STATEMENT

I have been investigating the layering, combining, and the superimposition of all sorts of images that trigger memories of those special moments in life that are really what life is and can become. I have constructed a field of light, color, and space created with lace. These areas of superimposed lace are used for their associative potential as well as their visual characteristics. My art concerns itself with attempting to create a heightened awareness of humanity. With visual foundations such as these, I bring together various images of nature and place them in counter point situations to trigger moments of reflection. These are created from altering the scale, the color, and the presence of a number of drawn and photographic images in the computer. The goal is to bring those special personal memories of a wonderful spring morning, a hug from an absent loved one, a walk on the beach, or some late spring sunrise. The specific images are dictated and influenced by the individual color fields of light. The photo images come from special excursions to the sea, large rivers, forests, mountains, and spiritual journeys. The computer allows me to discover and fine-tune the proper balance of all of the elements.

- BACK TO TOP

ARTIST BIO

"There’s a kind of strength and power which is part of our existence. I want people to pay attention to their hearts. We pay too much attention to our heads and our pocketbooks and the political situation and not enough to our hearts. And it doesn’t have to be mushy!"

John Dowell’s prints, paintings, sculptures, music, and text are rich with spirituality and symbolism; they attempt to capture the true human spirit. Dowell, developed his artistic identity early on. Much of his earlier work is a synergy of European modernism, black culture, jazz, and the African American experience of the 60’s and 70’s.

After graduating from Philadelphia’s Tyler School of Art, in 1963, Dowell accepted a two-month residency studying advanced lithography with Garo Antreasian, began a senior printing fellowship at Tamarind Lithography Workshop, and subsequently, was accepted to University of Washington MFA program. In 1976, he started Visual Music Ensemble. Printing during this time, he sought to create fluid art works that expressed a spontaneous joy for the creative act, visual and auditory. Influences during this time included John Coltrane, Ornette Colman, and Duke Ellington.

Charles Pridgen, both a friend and teacher, inspired Dowell’s artist-teacher career. Enabling his students to tap and tune their own creativities and skills is more than simply part of Dowell’s life as an artist, rather it is truly a part of his artwork itself. This is truly creating art with heart foremost and is literally translated in his most recent series. On a trip to Brazil, in 1988, Dowell received a Condomble ceremonial initiation. During this rite, he had a vision of a burning heart, which has since become the focus of his newest body of work. Dowell says of this symbol:

"In using the heart, I am attempting to stop, look, listen and feel the layers of love, respect, and just being. The heart’s spiritual overtones generate reflections on life, bringing me closer to my internal world, my humanity, my peace. These forms and objects, along with light and sounds, act as stimuli to unleash and provoke my inner discovery."

- BACK TO TOP

ARTIST RESUMÉ

Born:
March 25, 1941 - Philadelphia, PA

Selected One Man Shows
2001:
Recent Prints and Watercolors Bradley University, Peoria Ill.
Passages: Gateways to Discovery II, Recent Works
Zoellner Art Center, Lehigh University, Bethlehem PA
1999:
Four Moments in Time, Fine Arts Center Gallery,
University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AK
1998/99:
Passages: A Gateway to Discovery, The African-American Museum, Philadelphia., PA
1997:
John Dowell, One Man Show, Satori Fine Art, Chicago, IL
- Taking the Heart Home, University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada
1995:
John Dowell: Three Moments in Time, A Survey of Prints, 1970-1995 The Brandywine Graphic Workshop, Philadelphia, PA

John Dowell has also exhibited at:
Mezzanie Gallery, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Galerie Art in Progress, Munich, Germany
Galerie Haus 11, Karlsruhe, Germany
Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA
Galleria Massimo Valsecchia, Milan, Italy
Galleria Schwarz, Milan, Italy
Lunn Gallery, Graphics International Ltd., Washington, D.C.
Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Selected Concerts:
"Sound Images", Institute of Contemporary Art, University of Pennsylvania, PA
Ohio University, Athens, OH
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Rosemont College, Rosemont, PA
Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA
Voila une Musique Nouvelle qui Ressemble un Peu au Jazz", ARC Paris,
Musse d'Art Moderne De La Ville De Paris, Paris, France
"Accent 70's Neue Musik Festival", "Etwas Wie Jazz", Amerika Haue, Munich, Germany
Hirshorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C.
Three concerts given at the X Quadriennale Nazionale d'Arte, Palazzo Delle Esposizioni, Rome, Italy
"Mostra 1973", concert of works on paper, British Academy, Rome, Italy

Selected Collections
Colgate University, Hamilton, NY
Yale University Museum, New Haven, CT
Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA
New York Public Library, New York, NY
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY
Afro-American Historical & Cultural Museum, Philadelphia, PA
Biblioteque Nationale, Paris, France
Brooklyn Museum of Art, Brooklyn, NY
Boston Museum of Fine Art, Boston, MA
The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, CA
Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
National Collection, Washington, D.C.
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA
Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, NY
Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI
The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, NY

- BACK TO TOP

PRESS RELEASE

Philadelphia, Pa — May 10, 2002- ArtJaz Gallery is pleased to present one of Philadelphia’s most celebrated artist John E. Dowell Jr. An exhibition of his watercolors and prints will be on display at the gallery from June 9 — July 13, 2002. The opening reception will be held on Sunday June 9th, 2pm - 5pm.

John Dowell’s exhibition "Heart Songs" will highlight salient works from the artist’s collection of drawings, complimented by current exploits in multi-media prints. John Dowell is a master printmaker, painter, ceramist, composer and musician.

The exhibition "Heart Songs" presents a feast for the eyes, highlighting current works that give testimony to over four decades of exploration in abstraction articulated through lyricism, the gesture, and symbolism. Dowell’s works focus on the celebration of life. For him, art is about discovery and the wonderment of existence. Of particular significance is Dowell’s use of digitally manipulated images in recent prints. He superimposes a wide variety of images, such as land and seascapes, which are intended to trigger memories of life’s special moments with the emblem of the heart as a focal point. In contrast to Jim Dine, also known for his use of the heart as an iconographic form, Dowell’s symbolic use of the heart has mystical overtones. It becomes a point of departure for describing in graphic form and color the human attributes of Haitian loas, saints, love and various colloquial connotations of the emblem. Spirituality has and continues to be of great import in John Dowell’s work. He strives to evoke the essence of ethereal realities.

In "Love Song for a Princess," one of Dowell’s more recent works, traces of lace are airbrushed over the surface of the print. A bluish tinged heart hovers mid-center in a sea of violet tonalities. Radiating from the central heart are ghost-like auras in yellow and pink tints, pierced with an elongated calligraphic mark. Lyrical configurations of rainbow hues cascade and dance over the entire color field. Through this type of symbolic vocabulary, Dowell creates worlds that are representative of lessons learned over decades in many disciplines. Developing systems that reference the performing and visual arts is a directive in Dowell’s work that has remained consistent over the years. Inspired by a trip to Bahia, Brazil, Dowell has come to fuse African based spiritual concepts and ritual within the context of his work.

The ArtJaz Gallery, a premier fine art gallery, specializes in promoting the art of emerging and established artists of color in Philadelphia and throughout United States.

"Heart Songs": Watercolors and Prints by John Dowell will be exhibited June 9 — July 13th, 2002. The opening and artist reception will be held on Sunday, June 9, 2002 2pm — 5pm. For more information call 215 922-4800. Artjaz Gallery is located at 51 N. 2nd Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106.

- BACK TO TOP