A picture of the sculpture and some information about the sculptor:

Jack Howard-Potter was born on January 2, 1975 in New York City, and was subsequently raised there for most of his childhood.  His first exposure to the arts, while attending the Pomfret School in northeastern Connecticut, sparked an interest in him that has been the cornerstone of his adult life.

His early influences were in the studios of Pomfret School.  In these experiences he saw his first glimpses of his talents, exploring mediums such as pottery, photography, sculpture and stone carving.  These initial experiences led him to pursue a BA degree in Art and Art History from Union College, where he had his first major show held during graduation.  The show was a compilation of 15 figurative steel sculptures created during his final six months in school, and brought a good deal of critical acclaim his way.  During this time, it became clear that welded steel had become his medium of choice.

Shortly after completing his studies at Union in 1997, Jack embarked on many different artistic endeavors, starting with a studio converted from a barn in upstate New York.  In addition to producing his own works, he was involved in a “commune” of artists and their styles, inspiring him further.  His second show, held at Machamok’s Game Fair, reflected these influences.

Before long, Jack started his professional career in the art field working with Marsha Pels on the installation of her exhibition “Terranova” at the Sculpture Center of New York.  This experience gave him insight into the level of quality necessary to succeed as an artist, and he knew he needed to perfect his abilities.  Shortly after the installation was completed, Jack accepted a position with a fabrication plant in Evergreen, Colorado to hone his welding and sculpting skills.

A year later, he moved back to New York where he obtained a studio in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn and began working part-time in the showroom of Seguso Viro, an Italian art glass manufacturer, in Manhattan.  Although he has never blown glass, he did visit their factory in Murano, which did much to influence him.  He could now fully visualize the concept of using a solid substance to create a flowing, moving object, and this excited him.  Using his new-found techniques from Colorado and his heightened sense of fluidity, he returned to creating his “new and improved” life-sized figurative steel sculptures. 

During this time, he was approached by the Walley Findlay Galleries, and had a summer-long exhibition at their gallery in East Hampton, NY.  This show brought him even more praise and gave him his formal introduction to the New York City art scene.  This led to a display of sculpture in Battery Park at a concert thrown by MTV in conjunction with the Tribeca Film Festival in May of 2002 in the lower Manhattan Park to assist in the revitalization of the area.  The crowds came and Jack’s figures were seen onstage, backstage, and all around the audience and park.  

But Jack wasn’t satisfied yet that he had truly perfected his skills as a figurative artist, so he enrolled in classes at the Art Students League to conquer the human form and subsequently became the assistant to Anthony Palumbo. A short time after starting as a student there, he was asked to be a class monitor, which is the equivalent to a professor’s assistant.  Working as a teacher and monitoring class, teaching Mr. Palumbo’s theories when the instructor was not in class, stimulated him in an entirely different manner than art did, and he decided to utilize this new interest in a positive way.  Thus, in the fall of 2002, Jack began working at Martin Luther King, Jr. High School, working with the After School Program in the Lincoln Center Area.

He has continued his work with the Tribeca Film Festival in 2003 by designing and building one of the awards along side such great artists as Fritz Koenig and Donald Sultan.