INFO

BIOGRAPHY

Gus Powell was born in New York City in 1974 and attended Oberlin College where he majored in comparative religion. In 2003 he was selected to be in PDNs 30 under 30 issue and also published his first monograph, The Company of Strangers (J&L Books). His work has been exhibited internationally, including a solo show at The Museum of The City of New York and group exhibitions at The Art Institute of Chicago, Museum of Fine Arts Houston and FOAM, NL.

His photographs have been published in Aperture, Harpers, Vogue, M le mag – Le Monde, Wired, Fortune, W, and The New Yorker. He is a member of the international street photographers’ collective UP and is on the faculty of the MFA Photography, Video and Related Media Department at the School of Visual Arts, NY.

His work is included in the books Bystander: A World History of Street Photography and Street Photography Now. Powell’s second monograph, titled The Lonely Ones (J&L Books, 2015) was celebrated as one of the best photography books of the year, and was reprinted as a trilingual edition in 2017. His third monograph, FAMILY CAR TROUBLE (TBW Books, 2019) has become a new classic of the Automotive Parenting Bereavement genre. Powell is currently at work on a body of street work titled Mise en Scène. He is represented by Micamera Gallery (Milano) and Lee Marks Fine Art (IN).

CURRICULUM VITAE

Solo Exhibitions

Bring Them Homes, Citi Gallery, New York, NY, November, 2022.

Family Car Trouble, The Meeting, Rimini, Italy, August, 2022.

The Venice Biennalists, Lee Marks Fine Art, Shelbyville, IN, July, 2022.

Family Car Trouble, Micamera, Milano, Italy, October, 2021.

A Social Distance, Lee Marks Fine Art, Shelbyville, IN, May, 2020.

Based On A True Story, Leica Gallery, Washington, DC, May, 2019.

Public Art Challenge, Bloomberg Gallery, New York, NY, February, 2019.

Bring Them Homes, Citi Gallery, Miami, FL, March, 2019.

Bring Them Homes, Lee Marks Fine Art, Shelbyville, IN, January, 2019.

Bring Them Homes, Citi Gallery, LIC, NY, November, 2018.

Gus Powell Photographer, Spartanburg Art Museum, Spartanburg, SC, March, 2018.

Public Art Challenge, Art House, Gary, IN, February, 2018.

The Lonely Ones, Ron Herman, Kobe, Japan, January, 2018.

Public Art Challenge, Bloomberg Philanthropies, New York, NY, November, 2017.

The Lonely Ones, Ron Herman, Kyoto, Japan, July, 2017.

The Lonely Ones, Ron Herman, Tokyo, Japan, May, 2017.

The Lonely Ones, Micamera, Milano, Italy, March, 2016.

The Lonely Ones, Sasha Wolf Gallery, New York, NY, January, 2016.

The Lonely Ones, Galerie Ghezelbash, Paris, France, November, 2015.

Manhattan Noon, Museum of the City of New York, NY, December 2007 - April 2008.

The Company of Strangers, French Trotters, Paris, France, December, 2005.

Town & Country, Norfolk, CT Public Library, September, 2003.

Select Group Exhibitions

When in Athens, The Humid, Athens, GA, September, 2021.

Hair of the Dog, Lee Marks Fine Art, Shelbyville, IN, January, 2021.

More Than A Selfie, Lee Marks Fine Art, Shelbyville, IN, January, 2020.

Der Greif Variety Show, Aperture Gallery, New York, NY, March, 2019.

Take A Seat, Lee Marks Fine Art, Shelbyville, IN, November, 2018.

Bystander: A History of Street Photography, Leica Gallery, SF, CA, July, 2018.

Flower Show, Lee Marks Fine Art AIPAD, New York, NY, April, 2018.

Hey Now, Fotografia Europea - Micamera, Reggio Emilia, Italy, May 2017.

9/11 Memorial & Museum, New York, NY, permanent collection, 2014.

InPublic, TCDC, The Emporium, Bangkok, Thailand, February, 2013.

Street Shots NYC, South Street Seaport Museum, NY, January, 2013.

Occupy Wall Street: Camera & Subject, South Street Seaport Museum, NY, July, 2012.

LUNCH HOUR, New York Public Library, NY, June, 2012.

Beyond Words, Howard Greenberg Gallery, NY, September. 2011.

InPublic, Derby Museum, Format Photography Festival, Derby, March, 2011.

New Yorker Fiction/Real Photography, Steven Kasher Gallery, NY, June, 2011.

Street Photography Now, Uno Art Space, Stuttgart, April, 2011.

Street Photography Now, Galerie Lichblick, Cologne, December, 2010.

Street Photography Now, Mois de La Photo - OFF, Paris, November, 2010.

Street Photography Now, Third Floor Gallery, Cardiff, Wales, Fall, 2010.

iN PUBLiC @ 10, Photofusion Gallery, London, Summer, 2010.

New York Perspectives, 25CPW, New York, NY, May 2010.

FotoGrafia Festival Internazionale di Roma, Italy, May - August, 2009.

New York Perspectives, Stadsarchive Amsterdam, NL, May - September 2009.

States Of Mind, TH Inside, Copenhagen, December, 2008.

States Of Mind, TH Inside, Brussels, November, 2008.

Various Photographs: Curated by Tim Barber, NY Photo Festival, Brooklyn, NY, 2008.

Tiny Vices, Proyectos Monclova, Mexico City, Mexico, July, 2007.

The End Is Nigh, Higher Pictures, New York, NY, April, 2007.

J&L Books, Marcia Wood Gallery, Atlanta, GA, January, 2007.

Tiny Vices, Studio Bee, Tokyo, Japan, December, 2006.

Here: Remembering 9/11, WTC Installation, New York, NY, December, 2006.

Timescapes, Museum of the City of New York, NY, 2006, permanent installation.

Here Is New York, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX, Summer 2006.

Still Life & Stilled Lives, Ariel Meyerowitz Gallery, New York, NY, February, 2005.

Wild Flowers, Ariel Meyerowitz Gallery, New York, NY, Summer 2004.

Summer Life, Alice Austen House, Staten Island, NY, August, 2003.

Common Ground, McMullen Museum, Boston College, June, 2003.

Sylvan, Ariel Meyerowitz Gallery, New York, NY, April, 2003.

Made in New York, Jen Bekman Gallery, New York, NY, June, 2003.

2002 Armory Photography Show, New York, NY, October, 2002.

Life In The City, Museum of Modern Art, New York, Winter/Spring 2002.

The Sidewalk Never Ends, Art Institute of Chicago, IL, Fall 2001 - Spring 2002.

Here Is New York, 116 Prince Street, New York, NY, September, 2001.

Straight Arrows, Ariel Meyerowitz Gallery, New York, NY, February, 2001.

Modern Madness, C.S. Ledbetter Gallery, New York, NY, November, 2000.

Honest Lie, Saltbox Gallery, New York, NY, August, 1999.

The Gestures of The Eye, Fisher Hall, Oberlin, Ohio, May, 1997.

Pinhole Blues, The Swamp Gallery, Trinity High School, New York, NY, 1993.

PERMENANT COLLECTIONS

The Art Institute of Chicago, IL

The Museum of Fine Arts Houston, TX

9/11 Memorial & Museum, New York, NY

The Museum of the City of New York, NY

FOAM fotografiemuseum, Amsterdam, NL

Martin Parr Foundation Library, UK

International Center of Photography Library, NY

New York Public Library Picture Collection, NY

BOOKS

Monographs

Family Car Trouble (2nd Edition)

By Gus Powell, TBW Books, Oakland, CA (2021)

Brooklyn BRIEF

By Gus Powell, ROMAN NVMERAL, Brooklyn, NY (2019)

Family Car Trouble

By Gus Powell, TBW Books, Oakland, CA (2019)

The Lonely Ones (Trilingual Edition)

By Gus Powell, Lazy Dog Press, Milano, Italy (2017)

Sixteen Balls

By Gus Powell, Sports Graphic, New York, NY (2016)

The Lonely Ones

By Gus Powell, J&L Books, Atlanta, GA (2015)

The Company of Strangers

By Gus Powell, J&L Books, Atlanta, GA (2003)

Select Anthologies

Social Fabric Earth Return

By Claudia Hill, Bomdia Books, Berlin, Germany (2021)

Photo No-Nos: Meditations on What Not to Photograph

Edited by Jason Fulford, Aperture, New York, NY (2021)

PhotoWork: Forty Photographers on Process and Practice

Edited by Sasha Wolf, Aperture, New York, NY (2019)

Lovers of My Orchards: Writers & Artists on Frank O’Hara

Edited by Olivier Brossard, PULM, Paris, France (2017)

Bystander: A History of Street Photography

By Colin Westerbeck & Joel Meyerowitz, Laurence King, London, UK (2017)

The Photographers Playbook

Edited by Jason Fulford & Gregory Halpern, Aperture, New York, NY (2014)

The World Atlas of Street Photography

By Jackie Higgins, Yale University Press, New Haven/London (2014)

Women in Clothes

By Sheila Heti, Heidi Julavits & Leanne Shapton, Blue Rider Press, New York, NY (2014)

Street Value

By Rosten Woo, Meredith TenHoor, & Damon Rich, Princeton Architectural Press (2010)

Street Photography Now

by Sophie Howarth & Stephen McLaren, Thames & Hudson, London, UK (2010)

New York: Portrait of a City

Edited by Reuel Golden, Taschen, London, UK (2010)

Global Citizen: The Architecture of Moshe Safdie

Donald Albrecht, Scala Editions, New York, NY (2010)

10: Ten Years of In-Public,

Edited by Nick Turpin, NTP, London, UK (2010)

La Gioia: Visioni e Rappresentazioni

Edited by Marco Delogu, Zoneattive Edizioni, Roma, Italy (2009)

Foam Album 09

Edited by Marloes Krijnen, FOAM, Amsterdam, NL (2009)

States of Mind: Young American Photography

Edited by Elena Bordignon, TH Inside, Brussels/Copenhagen (2008)

A Field Guid To The North American Family

By Garth Risk Hallberg, Mark Batty Publishers, New York, NY (2007)

Paper Placemats ATL

Edited by Jason Fulford, J&L Books, Atlanta, GA (2007)

The Way It Wasn’t

By Barbera Epler & Daniel Javitch, Art Direction & Photography by Gus Powell, New Directions, New York, NY (2006)

American Photography 21

Amilus Inc, New York, NY (2006)

Paper Placemats

Edited by Jason Fulford, J&L Books, Atlanta, GA (2004)

Here is New York: A Democracy of Photographs

Edited by Michael Shulan, Scalo Publishers, New York, NY (2002)

Bystander: A History of Street Photography

By Colin Westerbeck & Joel Meyerowitz, Little Brown & Co, New York, NY (2001)

AWARDS

Featured in American Photography No. 34, 2018.

National Magazine Award for Feature Photography, 2013

Awarded FOAM/Stadsarchief Amsterdam Henry Hudson 400 Fellowship, 2008.

Featured in American Photography No. 22, 2005.

Featured in Print magazine’s “New Visual Artists” issue, April, 2004.

Selected for Photo District News “30 Emerging Photographers Issue,” March, 2003.

Awarded Cultural Specialist Grant from U.S. Dept. of Cultural Affairs 2002.

SELECT PERIODICALS

Tempi “Ogni foto porta scritto più in la”

Review by Piero Vietti, Milano, Italy (September, 2022)

New York Times “Endless Lines, Baffling Delays, Crocs for Days”

Photos by Gus Powell, text by Guy Trebay, New York, NY (August, 2022)

AIPAD Exposure “Gus Powell’s Gimlet-Eyed Views of Venice”

Review by Jean Dykstra, online (August, 2022)

Aperture “Venice Biennale, Surreal & Intimate”

Portfolio by Gus Powell, text by Luca Fiore, online (May, 2022)

Il Foglio “Family Car Trouble”

Review by Luca Fiore, Milano, Italy (May, 2020)

Il Fotografo “Family Car Trouble”

Portfolio by Gus Powell with essay by Giulia Zorzi, Milano, Italy (February, 2020)

The Guardian “Life, death & Jimmy the Volvo: Gus Powell’s family photos”

Portfolio by Gus Powell, London, UK, (January 15, 2020)

Archivo “Hidden Memories”

Portfolio by Gus Powell with essay by Marco Lupo, Milano, Italy (December 2017)

Photograph Magazine “Family Car Trouble”

Portfolio by Gus Powell with essay by Elisabeth Biondi, New York, NY (July/August 2017)

Aperture No. 217 Lit Issue “The Lonely Ones”

Portfolio by Gus Powell with essay by Heidi Julavits, Aperture, New York, NY (Winter 2014)

A Public Space No.19 “Street Life: The Invisible Ecology of Cities”

Portfolio by Gus Powell with essay by Robert Sullivan, APS, Brooklyn, NY (Fall 2013)

M - Le Magazine du Monde “United Colors of New York”

Portfolio by Gus Powell with essay by Stephanie Chayet, Le Monde, Paris, France (May 2013)

A Public Space No.16 “Negative Space”

Portfolio & essay by Gus Powell, APS, Brooklyn, NY (Summer 2012)

Harper’s “Wild Things”

Portfolio by Gus Powell with essay by David Samuels, Harper’s, New York, NY (June 2012)

Zing “Lunch Pictures”

Portfolio by Gus Powell with essay by Stella Qian, Zintiandi, Shanghai, China (January 2010)

Foam: Sidewalk “Gus Powell’s No York”

Portfolio by Gus Powell with essay by Tim Davis, Foam, Amsterdam, NL (Summer 2005)

Marmalade “Finding Beauty in The Company of Strangers”

Portfolio by Gus Powell with essay by Myles Quinn, Marmalade, London, UK (Summer 2003)

Publication: For Street Photographers

Edited by Nick Turpin, NTP, London, UK (2009)

BIG “Transatlantic”

Portfolio and text by Gus Powell, BIG, London, UK (Spring 2002)

DoubleTake “Lunch Pictures”

Portfolio and text by Gus Powell, The Lane Press, Somerville, MA (Summer 2001)

FILMS

Family Car Trouble - Rimini (2022), RT 01:06, Written & Directed by Gus Powell

Edited by Gus Powell & Sean Colello

Family Car Poetics (2019), RT 00:57, Written & Directed by Gus Powell

Edited by Gus Powell & Matt Beck

“Balance” Family Car Trouble Trailer (2018), RT 00:43, Written & Directed by Gus Powell

Edited by Gus Powell & Sean Colello

The Lonely Ones Trailer (2015), RT 01:26, Written & Directed by Gus Powell

Edited by Gus Powell & Steven Brahms

TEACHING & GUEST LECTURES

School of Visual Arts, Photo, Video & Related Media, NY - MFA Faculty since 2009