JONATHON DOWNING

Inseparable

02/03/23 - 02/26/23

Opening Reception:

Friday February 3rd 6-8pm

IRL Gallery

15 Monroe St 

New York, NY 10002

Inseparable explores the bond that one makes with those they hold dear, be they family, friends, or lovers. Through his new body of work, Jonathon Downing examines mimetic behaviors, the links between cultural or fashion icons and their fans, the notion of idolization through social media, and more generally, basketball fandom.

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Jonathon Downing (b. 1997) is an oil painter whose portraits craft conversations about public image and internal truth through the lens of the professional basketball fan. He created his unique aesthetic while studying at the University of Michigan; and since graduating in 2020, has continued to refine his process of digital photo montage and realistic painting. While Downing currently resides in the Metro Detroit area, the subjects he paints reside in an alternate reality where human beings are monstrous amalgamations of portraiture. Surprisingly organic and honest, these portraits simultaneously depict the basketball fan and the superstars they idolize and replicate, promoting deeper observation in order to fully form a hypothesis on each character’s backstory and present emotions. 

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Jonathon's past solo and group shows have been exhibited at Lorin Gallery (2022), NYCH (2022), Tchotchke Gallery (2022), Glass Rice Gallery (2022)