John E. Dowell Jr.

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John E. Dowell Jr.
Born1941
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Known forPrintmaker
Websitehttp://johndowell.com/

John Edward Dowell Jr. (born March 25, 1941 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American printmaker,[1] etcher, lithographer, painter, and professor of printmaking at the Tyler School of Art at Temple University.[2]

Life and education

Dowell was born in Philadelphia, and grew up in a housing project there. As a child, he explored art with his brother by copying the work in Lone Ranger comics.[1]

He studied at the Tyler School of Art at Temple University, where he was mentored by ceramist Rudolf Staffel.[1] And he mastered his printmaking skills at the Tamarind Institute in Los Angeles, CA, where he worked as a senior printer.[3] His work is influenced by abstract expressionists Willem de Kooning, Philip Guston, and Jackson Pollock[1] and jazz musicians such as Miles Davis, Archie Shepp, and Cecil Taylor.[4]

While visiting Bahia, Brazil in 1988, Dowell explored interest in traditional African religions. He later converted to the voodoo religion,[5] but later was defrocked from the Voodoo priesthood.[6]

Work

Dowell is well known for works keyed to music.[1] He often focuses on abstract visual representations of poetry and music, notably jazz.[2] In the late 1980s, he focused on art related to the voodoo religion. These works were inspired by voodoo forces and spirits.[5]

Dowell's first individual exhibition was at the Swope Art Museum in 1968.[1] Dowell's canvas, ceramic, and print works are showcased at over 70 museums worldwide, and he has had more than 50 solo exhibitions.[4] He has also participated in a number of group exhibitions,[1] including in "Philadelphia Teaches Printmaking" at Philadelphia's Print Club in 1978.[3] His works are featured in many collections,[1] including the Minneapolis Institute of Art,[7][8] the Philadelphia Museum of Art,[9] and the Smithsonian American Art Museum.[10] Dowell also recorded photographic images of the President's House archaeological site.[4]

Dowell's work was featured in the 2015 exhibition We Speak: Black Artists in Philadelphia, 1920s-1970s at the Woodmere Art Museum.[11]

Dowell has received many awards for his work, including the James Van Der Zee award from the Brandywine Workshop,[12] and grants from the National Endowment for the Arts.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Thomas Riggs, ed. (1997). St. James Guide to Black Artists. St. James Press. ISBN 9781558622203.
  2. ^ a b c "John E. Dowell - Make It Short". Art of the Print. Retrieved January 28, 2017.
  3. ^ a b Forman, Nessa (1978). "Philadelphia is Still Print City — Dowell Painting: Read it as Music, Read it as Dance, Read it as Art". The Philadelphia Inquirer.
  4. ^ a b c "Photographs of the President's House Archeological Site: A joint project of the Office of the Mayor, City of Philadelphia and Independence National Historical Park" (PDF). Philadelphia Archaeological Forum. July 2007. Retrieved January 28, 2017.
  5. ^ a b "John Edward Dowell, Jr". Philadelphia Museum of Art Bulletin. Vol. 90. Winter 1995. p. 42–43. ISSN 0031-7314.
  6. ^ National African Religion Congress/NARC World
  7. ^ "Hat and Beard, John Dowell". MIA. Retrieved January 28, 2017.
  8. ^ "The Bridge, John Dowell". MIA. Retrieved January 28, 2017.
  9. ^ "Collections: Search Collections". Philadelphia Museum of Art. Retrieved January 28, 2017.
  10. ^ "Artworks Search Results / American Art". Smithsonian American Art Museum Renwick Gallery. Retrieved January 28, 2017.
  11. ^ "We Speak: Black Artists in Philadelphia, 1920s-1970s". Woodmere Art Museum. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
  12. ^ "Brandywine Workshop". Brandywine Workshop. Retrieved November 12, 2020.
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