William Powhida
Based in Brooklyn, NY, William Powhida is actively engaged with the contradictions and absurdities of class-based realities in the commercial and public art worlds. He has complied enemy lists of collectors and curators, hired an actor to portray himself as an abusive caricature at openings, and used the corporation “Grevsky LLC” to critique the making and selling of contemporary artwork. The artworks themselves are mostly text-driven drawings and paintings, in a highly skilled trompe l'oeil style.
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Works on Paper
Advice to Artists
Graphite and gouache on paper mounted on panel
20 x 16”
2023
signed and dated on reverse, lower left
$5,000
Bad Ideas About Art
Graphite, watercolor, gouache, and colored pencil on paper mounted on panel
20 x 16”
2023
signed and dated on reverse, lower left
$5,000
Endless Bummer 2013
Watercolor, Acrylic, and Graphite on Paper15 x 15"
2019
signed on reverse
$1,500
LA Open Studio 2024
Watercolor, Acrylic, and Graphite on Paper
15 x 15"
2018
signed on reverse
$1,500
Eternal Returns (2001)
Watercolor, Acrylic, and Graphite on Paper
15 x 15"
2017
signed on reverse
$1,500
“What is an Artist?”
Graphite, watercolor, colored pencil on paper
20 x 16"
2017
signed and dated on reverse, lower left
$5,000
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Prints
William Powhida has created a unique print in collaboration with Bert Green Fine Art in Chicago, and Aardvark Letterpress in Los Angeles. “What is an Artist?” is a 7.5 x 5.625" letterpress printed on heavy paper, laser cut torn paper shape and die cut tape fragment, mounted to a backing sheet. Sheet size is 20 x 16" with a depth of 0.375". The raised, sculptural quality of the mounting protrudes from the backing, casting a shadow. Edition size is 30 with 4 APs and 2 PPs. Signed lower right by the artist, and numbered lower left.
“What is an Artist?”
4 color Letterpress, laser cut and die cut parts mounted on Reich Savoy Brilliant White paper.
Image Size: 7.5" x 5.625" x 0.375"
Paper Size: 20 x 16 x 0.375"
Edition of 30, 4 APS, 2 PPs
2017
signed and dated lower right, numbered lower left
$950
Market Crash
Archival Inkjet Print on Paper
44/50
31 x 24”
2007
Courtesy of the artist and Schroeder Romero, New York
$950
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Artist’s Book
William Powhida's artist book After the Contemporary is a fictional review of today’s art world from the year 2050 using ArtForum magazine as a template. It was designed for William Powhida’s first solo museum exhibition at the Aldrich Museum in Connecticut and draws from a variety of academic, curatorial, philosophical, and sociological sources, as well as critical, speculative fiction.
After The Contemporary
Soft Cover Book
Edition of 50
10.5 x 10.5”
2018
$100
