Dana Powell-Smith is an abstract artist originally from New York, who honors her family and lineage through her process. As a wife, mother, and grandmother, Dana understands the power of art in generational healing and in attaining freedom.
As the Granddaughter of Harlem Renaissance artist Georgette Seabrooke Powell, Dana was immersed in the art world from a young age. Her sweetest childhood memories were in joining her grandmother in DC as she activated in public spaces and in painting ... view more »
Artist Style: Visual: Abstract, Collage, Conceptual, Expressionistic, Minimalism, Murals, Political
For Dana, painting is oxygen. Painting is freedom.
When she returned to the canvas after a many-years hiatus, she released the ancestral trauma that enrobed her heart. As her anger gave way to grief, her painting shifted. She moved from figurative to abstract work.
Through the use of deep, majestic colors and metallic hues, Dana creates energetic, dynamic paintings. She incorporates fluid acrylic pouring in her work, allowing the pigments to interact with each other and form rippling patterns. Sometimes, a figure will emerge. Most of the time, it is implied.
Ever the resourceful woman, Dana is unafraid to think outside the box – and the brush. She uses household items – a spatula, strainer, takeout cup, you name it! – to splay paint in appealing, unique patterns.
There, as she creates in her home studio, she finds peace.
Meijer “ A Collection of Voices” Black History Month winner.