Oami Powers is a visual artist based in North Carolina. Raised in California and New Zealand, Powers graduated from the University of Canterbury with a B.A. in Art History and Classical Studies. She has attended ceramic and sculpture workshops with Cristina Cordova, Mathew McConnell, Zoe Durfour and Joanna Poag. Powers spent the better part of two decades working in clothing, textile and product design before falling in love with ceramics, which is now central to her practice. Her work has been shown in solo and juried group exhibitions nationwide, and is in private and public collections including Duke Energy and Maria V. Howard Art Center. Powers was Regional Emerging Artist in Residence at Artspace in Raleigh NC in 2018, and has twice been the recipient of the United Arts Council Artist Support Grant.
“I was born and raised in California and New Zealand, the daughter of people who made things with their hands: bread, clothes, gardens, toys, furniture. Further back, my ancestors were farmers, engineers, inventors, union organizers, brewers, and one polygamous bare-knuckle boxer. Like them, I understand the world through the act of creating things with my hands.
My work is labor-intensive and obsessive; repetition and iteration are central to both my thinking and my making. Using natural materials like clay, graphite, and paper, I build sculptures, drawings, and installations that explore the landscapes of memory, daydreams, longing and loss.
Quiet surfaces with subtle colors and textures are invitations to come close and pay attention to details. Drawings often migrate onto the sculptures, creating intricate, web-like markings with graphite. The scale varies—sometimes these intimate objects are best suited to stand alone, while at other times they assemble into sprawling installations. Marks and objects are built up, forming jumbled and precarious forms that raise questions of vulnerability and interdependence.”
