About Jemma
Often painting ‘en plein air’, Powell’s work is cross-pollinated with the sensory essence of the day whether that be reflected in lashings of torrid intense heat, wind rushing through lush greenery or a moistness in the air. Once the first colour is laid on a canvas, the first shape is marked out in Powell’s definitive, energetically charged brushstrokes with subsequent strokes following in conversation with one another.
Powell is also an accomplished actress with a career spanning almost 20 years and has featured in Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland, Foyle’s War, The Stranger, The Secret Garden and Devils.
Powell attended Bristol University and achieved a BA in Drama and a Diploma in Acting from The Oxford School of Drama. She has exhibited widely across the UK and has had three sell-out solo shows with Cricket Fine Art, London. Her recent exhibition Tracing Time, created in collaboration with artist Leah Wood, was featured in Harper’s Bazaar and in Forbes’ list of top ten exhibitions during Frieze 2025. Powell also undertook a residency at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, creating a new body of work from its rooftop bar; these paintings will soon join the hotel’s permanent collection. Her work is held in distinguished private collections across Europe, Australia, and the United States.
She lives in Oxfordshire with her husband and musician Jack Savoretti, their three children and four dogs. Her mother, Lucy Powell, is an artist and her father is the renowned Product Designer Dick Powell. Powell is actively involved in a number of charities and is an Ambassador for the Art for Charity Collective.