A solo show of kinetic sculptures created by UAB Assistant Professor John Powers, M.F.A., will be the first exhibition of 2012 in the UAB Visual Arts Gallery, 900 13th St. South. 

The exhibition, “John Powers: Terra Incognita” will open Jan. 9, 2012, and will be on display until Feb. 4. A free opening reception is planned from 5 to 9 p.m. Friday, Jan. 13. For details, call the gallery at 205-934-0815.

Powers will present recent and new works exploring the notion of the “thin divide between everything-ness and nothingness,” he says. Powers says his sculptures examine the space where “classical myth, Buddhist philosophy, landscape and the afterlife intersect with technology, music, history, language and geometry.” Powers, a faculty member in the UAB Department of Art and Art History, is a recipient of an Alabama State Council on the Arts Fellowship, a Southeastern College Art Conference Individual Artist Fellowship and the prestigious Joan Mitchell Foundation MFA Grant. Powers’ work has been widely exhibited nationally and internationally.

“Field of Reeds,” a large kinetic work by Powers, won seventh place in an international art competition in 2009 attracting more than 1,200 entries. The winners of ArtPrize, held in Grand Rapids, Michigan, were determined by votes from the public. Powers’ sculpture featured 1,001 vertical, swaying reeds set in motion by an electric motor. To peek inside Powers’ studio as he created another kinetic sculpture, click here.

In 2012 the gallery’s hours of operation will change slightly. The gallery will continue to be open to the public Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-6 p.m. and also will open on Saturdays from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. The gallery is closed on Sundays and holidays.

This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it