The intense and private childhood impressions grew over time to a deeper connection with some understanding of history, cosmology, and geology. These interests, aligned with the compelling fascination of light and shadow, have energized his work in various ways and materials in drawings, paintings, photography, and sculpture.

During his early adult years Powers learned photolithography, traveled via the Navy to South America and Italy, and gained a deep and lasting love of literature, classical music, and opera. He earned an undergraduate degree from San Jose State College, where he later taught for thirty years. He earned a graduate degree in painting and art history with a strong focus on relationship of art and architecture from Stanford University.

He began working with mosaic, concrete, and stained glass in architectural settings, concerned with the expression of the play of light on relief surfaces. When introduced to acrylic plastic he discovered vibrant qualities of refraction, color transmission, and light reflection and began an intense productive period of using it to fabricate sculpture.

These works were weightless structures of floating colored light, seemingly as much painting as they were sculpture. Eventually Powers stopped working in plastic due to the toxic effects of solvents and fumes.  

Teaching in England was a vital experience which enlivened his interest in primal cultures as he visited Neolithic, Iron Age, and Roman sites. A trip to Venice and Florence reawakened his love of Renaissance art and architecture. Later, while conducting sculpture workshops in Australia, Harry explored the ancient rock paintings in the Kakadu area which became the inspiration for a large body of bronze and aluminum sculpture, paintings, and wash drawings.


In content, Powers’ current work ranges from expressing the dignity of primal cultures, to references of Renaissance structure, and allusions to contemporary astronomy. He feels a resonance among these. His aesthetic choices still echo those long ago childhood experiences of dramatic lighting and the mysteries of the timeless night sky.