Doug Cannell
Adjunct Faculty Owner, Magnet Creative
BFA Ceramics/Sculpture, Wayne State University, 1980
When it comes to developing ideas for my artwork, I have come to trust — even embrace — my subconscious. My best ideas come without me “trying”; they arise from a place that I don’t fully understand, from dreams, daydreams, and just letting my mind wander. My mind produces the seed of an idea that remains mysterious to me until I explore it. Only as I produce a piece does its meaning become clear to me. I rarely set out to produce art “about” anything. I have little interest in using my artwork to convince anybody of anything, or make social or political statements. My pieces are about energy, balance (or the lack thereof), snapshots of motion, contrasts of the organic and the industrial, precision, and the “accidental” beauty that some functional objects hold for me. Some of my pieces use the visual cues of an engineered device, but “do” nothing.
Ultimately, my goal is to create fascinating and beautiful objects that connect with people on a visceral level, pieces that elicit an emotional response and not necessarily an intellectual one.
View his work at dougcannell.com
Professional Experience
I have a dual career as a sculptor and a graphic designer. My art practice is based in my studio in Highland Park, MI, where I design and fabricate artwork that is mostly abstract, and mostly made of wood and/or metal. I also have a graphic design business where I help my clients effectively communicate their ideas, and if needed, I print and distribute the final printed materials.
Significant Publications, Presentations and Exhibitions
RECENT EXHIBITIONS
February 2022- Figures, Art Fluent (Online Gallery) http://www.art-fluent.com/figures
October 2021- The Schwa Show, Emerge Gallery in Greenville, NC
October 2021- The Skin I’m In, South Haven Center for the Arts in South Haven, MI
August 2021- Aquarium Gallery (Display Window Art Exhibit), Ann Arbor Art Center in Ann Arbor, MI
July 2021- Regional Biennial, Marshall M. Fredericks Sculpture Museum in Saginaw, Michigan
June 2021- Michigan Fine Arts Competition 2021, Birmingham Bloomfield Art Center in Birmingham, Michigan
February 2021- A Tree is a Wild Thing: New Sculpture by Doug Cannell (solo show), Hatch Gallery in Hamtramck, Michigan
January 2021- Michigan Annual XLVIII, Anton Art Center in Mt Clemens, Michigan
October 2020- art4gloves, Online benefit exhibition for http://mittensfordetroit.org
May 2020- 20 Days | 20 DAM Artists, Detroit Artists Market (online exhibition)
July 2020- Art Mile, Online Art Event
July 2020- Big and Abstract, Norwest Gallery of Art in Detroit, Michigan
March 2020- Sight and Sound, Grosse Pointe Art Center in Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan
February 2020- Gilda Snowden Memorial Exhibition, Scarab Club in Detroit, Michigan
July 2019- Spark (exhibited and co-curated), Annex Gallery at 333 Midland in Highland Park, Michigan
February 2019- approaching [im]perfect, Two-person exhibition, Galerie Camille in Detroit, Michigan
December 2018- Farmington Hills Public Art Program, Farmington Hills City Hall in Farmington Hills, MI (On display for two years)
December 2018- Detroit in the World: Selections From a Detroit Art, Connoisseur’s Collection, Collected Detroit in Detroit, MI
October 2018- Damned, Tangent Gallery in Detroit, MI
June 2018- Michigan Fine Arts Competition, Birmingham Bloomfield Art Center in Birmingham, Michigan
June 2018- Regional Biennial Juried Sculpture Exhibition, Marshall M. Fredericks Sculpture Museum in Saginaw, Michigan
June 2018- Art from the Heartland, Indianapolis Art Center in Indianapolis, Indiana
June 2018- After the Pedestal The Sculpture Center Center in Cleveland, Ohio
April 2018- Hatchback 12, Hatch Art in Hamtramck, MI
April 2018- Taos Art Insurgency: The New Protagonists, Greg Moon Gallery in Taos, NM, Showed Benlo Crux
January 2018- Michigan Annual XLV, Anton Art Center in Mount Clemens, MI
January 2018- House Warming, Whitdel Arts in Detroit, MI
December 2017- Reclaim, St Louis Artists’ Guild & Galleries in St. Louis, MO
November 2017- 2017 Mid West Sculpture Exhibition, The Indiana University Kokomo Art Gallery in Kokomo, IN
November 2017- 2017 Juried Fine Arts Exhibition, Crooked Tree Arts Center in Petoskey, MI
October 2017- ArtOber Art Walk 2017, Hazel Park Public Library in Hazel Park, MI
October 2017- 56th Annual Greater Michigan Art Exhibition, Alden B. Dow Museum of Science and Art, Midland Center for the Arts in Midland, Michigan
July 2017- The Sacred Feminine, Annex Gallery @ 333 Midland in Highland Park, Michigan
June 2017- Pieced Together, Detroit Artists Market in Detroit, MI
May 2017- Dimensions, Womble Carlyle Gallery, Milton Rhodes Center for the Arts in Winston-Salem, NC
May 2017- Wide Open 8, Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition (BWAC) in Brooklyn, NY, Awarded Honorable Mention
April 2017- Art+Science, MOCAD in Detroit, MI
February 2016- Michigan Annual XLIV, Anton Art Center in Mount Clemens, Michigan
January 2016- Revolted!, Annex Gallery @ 333 Midland in Highland Park, Michigan
December 2016- Resident Artist Exhibition: 333 Midland, Annex Gallery @ 333 Midland in Highland Park, Michigan
November 2016- You Are Here, Carr Center, Midland Center for the Arts in Detroit, Michigan
October 2016- ArtOber Art Walk, On the streets of Hazel Park, MI
October 2016- 55th Annual Greater Michigan Art Exhibition, Alden B. Dow Museum of Science and Art, Midland Center for the Arts in Midland, Michigan
September 2016- Big Sculpture, 333 Midland in Highland Park, MI 48322
August 2016- Schoolcraft College Student and Alumni Show, Janice Charach Gallery in West Bloomfield, MI 48322
July 2016- Open Competition 2016, Alfred Berkowitz Gallery, University of Michigan Dearborn in Dearborn, MI, Awarded 3rd Place
June 2016- Michigan Fine Arts Competition 2016, Birmingham Bloomfield Art Center in Birmingham MI 48009
June 2016- After the Pedestal, The Sculpture Center in Cleveland, OH
May 2016- Wide Open, Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition (BWAC) in Brooklyn, NY
May 2016- Recycle, Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition (BWAC) in Brooklyn, NY
May 2016- Blooms, Bugs, Beasts, Scarab Club in Detroit, MI 48202
May, 2016- 1 Day of Art – Detroit, (t)here magazine, Invited artists work published in (t)here magazine Issue 16 (Fall 2016)
March 2016- Never Not Broken, Ann Arbor Art Center in Ann Arbor, MI
February 2016- Silver Medal Exhibition, Scarab Club in Detroit, MI
January 2016- Michigan Annual XLIII, Anton Art Center in Mt. Clemens, MI
October, 2015- 93rd Annual All Media Exhibition, Ann Arbor Art Center in Ann Arbor, Michigan
July, 2015- 54th Annual Greater Michigan Art Exhibition, Alden B. Dow Museum of Science and Art, Midland Center for the Arts in Midland, Michigan, Awarded Best 3D
June, 2015- Michigan Fine Arts Competition, Birmingham Bloomfield Art Center in Birmingham, Michigan
June, 2015- After the Pedestal, The Sculpture Center in Cleveland, Ohio, Awarded Third Place
January 2015- Michigan Annual XLII, Anton Art Center in Mt. Clemens, MI, Awarded Honorable Mention
October, 2014- Our Town, The Community House in Birmingham, MI, Gold Award
September, 2014- ArtPrize, Grand Rapids, MI
July, 2014- If You Build It, They Will Come, Detroit Artists Market in Detroit, MI
July, 2014- 53rd Annual Greater Michigan Art Exhibition, Midland Center for the Arts in Midland, MI
June 2014- 014 Regional Biennial Juried Sculpture Exhibition, Marshall M. Fredericks Sculpture Museum in Saginaw, MI, Awarded First Place
April 2014- Eight Hands, Paint Creek Center for the Arts in Rochester, MI
January 2014- Art & Invention: The Sculpture of Doug Cannell, Solo Exhibition featuring 23 works, The Gallery at the Village Theater at Cherry Hill in Canton, MI
November 2013- Detroit Collective Exhibition, Work • Detroit in Detroit, MI
November 2013- Livonia Fine Arts Exhibition, Fine Arts Gallery, Livonia Civic Center Library in Livonia, MI, Awarded Second Place
October 2013- 21st Annual Canton Fine Arts Exhibition, The Gallery at the Village Theater at Cherry Hill in Canton, MI, Merit Award
August 2013- University of Michigan Dearborn Open Competition 2013, Alfred Berkowitz Gallery, UM Dearborn, Awarded Third Place
March 2013- Ongoing Exhibition, Several works on display in rotation throughout 2013, River Gallery in Chelsea, MI
October 2012- Retooled/Repackaged, One of five featured artists, exhibited nine pieces, Marygrove College Art Gallery in Detroit, MI
