Stephen J. Powers (born May 25, 1968) is an American
contemporary art
Contemporary art is the art of today, produced in the second half of the 20th century or in the 21st century. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a dynamic com ...
ist and
mural
A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage.
Word mural in art
The word ''mural'' is a Spani ...
ist. He is also known by the name ESPO ("Exterior Surface Painting Outreach"), and Steve Powers.Gregory J. Snyder, ''Graffiti Lives: Going Beyond the Tag in New York's Urban Underground'', NYU Press, 2009 He lives in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
.
Biography
Powers is from Philadelphia and took classes at The Art Institute of Philadelphia, and the University of the Arts.
In 1994, Powers moved to New York City to expand ''On the Go'' magazine, a hip hop magazine founded by Powers. Working under the name 'Espo', he painted throughout the city becoming known during the late 1990s for his thematic graffiti 'pieces', for ''On the Go'' magazine, and for his 1999 book ''The Art of Getting Over'', which placed stories told by other
graffiti writer
Graffiti (plural; singular ''graffiti'' or ''graffito'', the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from s ...
s alongside photos of their work. His graffiti work often blurred the lines between illegal and legal, for example by creating pieces that appeared to be legitimate advertisements or by painting abandoned shop fronts in daylight.
In 2000, Powers gave up graffiti to become a full-time studio artist. He is now a
mixed media
In visual art, mixed media describes artwork in which more than one medium or material has been employed.
Assemblages, collages, and sculpture are three common examples of art using different media. Materials used to create mixed media art incl ...
artist, working in drawing, painting,
printmaking
Printmaking is the process of creating artworks by printing, normally on paper, but also on fabric, wood, metal, and other surfaces. "Traditional printmaking" normally covers only the process of creating prints using a hand processed techniq ...
, and installation art. Power's work has been shown in the Venice and Liverpool biennials, as well as shows at New York City's Deitch Gallery.
In 2005, he organised The Dreamland Artists Club, a project in which professional artists helped
Coney Island
Coney Island is a peninsular neighborhood and entertainment area in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Brighton Beach and Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn, Manhattan Beach to its east, L ...
merchants by repainting their signs. Powers first solo museum exhibition was in the fall of 2007, at the
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) is a museum and private art school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
In 2007, Powers was awarded a
Fulbright scholar
The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people of ...
ship. He used the grant to create murals in Dublin,
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
and in Belfast's Shankhill area, with the assistance of local teenagers. His work in Belfast was inspired by the area's political murals.
In 2009, Powers produced a series of murals in Philadelphia about the complexities of personal relationships, titled ''A Love Letter for You''. He painted 50 murals along the elevated train in West Philadelphia. The project was sponsored by a $260,000 grant from the
Pew Center for Arts & Heritage
The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage is a nonprofit grantmaking organization and knowledge-sharing hub for arts and culture in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US established in 2005. In 2008, Paula Marincola was named the first executive director. The ...
and was produced by the Philadelphia
Mural Arts Program
Mural Arts Philadelphia is a non-profit organization that supports the creation of public murals in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1986 as Mural Arts Program, the organization was renamed in 2016. Having ushered more than 3,000 murals into ...
. The 'Love Letters' series continued in Syracuse on railroad overpasses (2010); ''A Love Letter to Brooklyn'' (2011), which consisted of painting an old
Macy's
Macy's (originally R. H. Macy & Co.) is an American chain of high-end department stores founded in 1858 by Rowland Hussey Macy. It became a division of the Cincinnati-based Federated Department Stores in 1994, through which it is affiliated wi ...
building occupying an entire city block in
Downtown Brooklyn
Downtown Brooklyn is the third largest central business district in New York City after Midtown Manhattan and Lower Manhattan), and is located in the northwestern section of the borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is known for its office and r ...
; ''A Love Letter to Baltimore'' (2014);
In November 2015 Powers exhibited "Stephen Powers: Coney Island Is Still Dreamland (To a Seagull)" at
The Brooklyn Museum
The Brooklyn Museum is an art museum located in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. At , the museum is New York City's second largest and contains an art collection with around 1.5 million objects. Located near the Prospect Heights, Crown H ...
. In 2019, Powers created a site specific commission for SFMOMA's third-floor architecture and design gallery.
Powers has exhibited internationally, including at Deitch Projects (New York, NY), the 49th Venice Biennale (with
Barry McGee
Barry McGee (born 1966) is an American contemporary artist. He is a well known graffiti artist, and a pioneer of the Mission School art movement. McGee is known by his monikers: Twist, Ray Fong, Bernon Vernon, and P.Kin.
Life and education
Barry ...
and Todd James) (Venice, Italy), Apex Art (New York), Brazilian Cultural Pavilion (São Paulo, Brazil), Art In The Streets curated by Jeffrey Deitch, MOCA (Los Angeles, CA), and as part of
Beautiful Losers
''Beautiful Losers'' is the second and final novel by Canadian writer and musician Leonard Cohen. It was published in 1966, before he began his career as a singer-songwriter.
Set in the Canadian province of Quebec, the story of 17th-century ...
, (Contemporary Art Center, Cincinnati, OH; Yerba Buena Art Center, San Francisco, CA; Orange County Museum of Art, Newport Beach, CA; Triennale di Milano, Milan, Italy; Le Tri Postal, Lille, France)
His work is in the collection of the Philadelphia Museum Of Art.
Deitch Projects
Jeffrey Deitch (pronounced ''DIE-tch'';Mike Boehm (January 12, 2010)L.A.'s MOCA picks art dealer Jeffrey Deitch as director''Los Angeles Times''. born 1952) is an American art dealer and curator. He is best known for his gallery Deitch Projects ...
, New York, NY
* 2007 – The Magic Word, The
Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art
The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) is a museum and private art school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.V1 Gallery
V1 Gallery is a contemporary art gallery located in the Meatpacking District of Copenhagen, Denmark. It was founded in 2002 by designer Jesper Elg and photographer Peter Funch. V1 Gallery gained international notability by being the first art ga ...
, Copenhagen, Denmark
* 2016 – Stephen Powers: Coney Island Is Still Dreamland (To a Seagull),
Brooklyn Museum
The Brooklyn Museum is an art museum located in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. At , the museum is New York City's second largest and contains an art collection with around 1.5 million objects. Located near the Prospect Heights, Crown H ...
* 2004 – Dreamland Artist Club – Creative Time, New York, NY. EPSO co-curated and participated in a project at
Coney Island
Coney Island is a peninsular neighborhood and entertainment area in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Brighton Beach and Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn, Manhattan Beach to its east, L ...
Creative Time
Creative Time is a New York-based nonprofit arts organization. It was founded in 1974 to support the creation of innovative, site-specific, socially engaged artworks in the public realm, particularly in vacant spaces of historical and architectura ...
's Democracy In America Exhibition, Coney Island, NY
* 2009 – A Love Letter For You – A The Mural Arts Program collection of murals in Philadelphia.
* 2010 – Love Letter For Syracuse – Paintings on train bridges in Syracuse, NY. Sponsored by
Syracuse University
Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...
* 2010 – VOLTO JA (I'll Be Back) – Sponsored by SESC
* 2011 – Love Letter To Brooklyn – Mural project in Brooklyn
* 2014 – Love Letter to Baltimore – Mural project in conjunction with Baltimore Public Arts
* 2015 – Bisous Mchou Charleroi Belgium
* 2016 – Olde City – Philadelphia, PA
* 2017 – O'Miami Poetry Festival – Miami Beach, FL
* 2018 – Coney Island Art Walls – Coney Island NY
* 2018 – 18th and Sansom – Philadelphia, PA
* 2019 –
Pier 40
Pier 40 (officially known as Pier 40 at Hudson River Park) is a parking garage, sports facility, and former marine terminal at the west end of Houston Street in Manhattan, New York, within Hudson River Park. It is home to the New York Knight ...
– R.E.D. – New York, NY
*2020 – During the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
, Powers painted a mural on the boarded up windows of a retail store in
Soho
Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century.
The area was develop ...
, New York City.
Arrest
In December 1999 Powers was charged with six counts of criminal mischief. Powers contends that the arrest was politically motivated. The arrest in his home took place after he had participated in a protest, conceived by artist Joey Skaggs, against New York City Mayor
Rudolph Giuliani
Rudolph William Louis Giuliani (, ; born May 28, 1944) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 107th Mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001. He previously served as the United States Associate Attorney General from 1981 to 198 ...
's attempt to shut down a controversial art show
Sensation
Sensation (psychology) refers to the processing of the senses by the sensory system.
Sensation or sensations may also refer to:
In arts and entertainment In literature
* Sensation (fiction), a fiction writing mode
* Sensation novel, a Britis ...
at the Brooklyn Museum. During the protest, Powers and others threw fake elephant dung at a caricature of then Mayor Rudy Giuliani. Powers painted the caricature for the protest. Powers pled guilty to one charge because he was "ready to grow on.”
A ''New York Times'' editorial criticized the Giuliani administration for its secrecy in the case, but also dismissed Powers as a self-promoter. The''
Village Voice
''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the creat ...
'' sympathized with Powers: "it's truly scary to think that if you invite people to throw artificial dung at a portrait of the mayor ... the police will raid your apartment." The article was also critical of Power's graffiti status, describing him as an egotistical, careerist "celebrity offender". Powers ultimately performed five days of community service.
Gallery
Bibliography
* Powers, Stephen, ''The Art of Getting Over'' (1999), St. Martin's Press,
* Kawachi, Taka, ''Street Market: Barry McGee, Stephen Powers, Todd James'' (2000), Little More,
* Powers, Stephen, ''First & Fifteenth: Pop Art Short Stories'' (2005), Villard,
* Snyder, Gregory, ''Graffiti Lives'' (2011), New York University Press,
* Powers, Stephen, ''A Love Letter to the City'' (2014),
Princeton Architectural Press
Princeton Architectural Press is a small press publisher, specializing in books on architecture, design, photography, landscape, and visual culture, with over 1,000 titles on its backlist. In 2013, it added a line of stationery products, including ...