Jonathon Downing – BOOOOOOOM! – CREATE * INSPIRE * COMMUNITY * ART * DESIGN * MUSIC * FILM * PHOTO * PROJECTS

Primarily based close to Detroit, Michigan, artist Jonathon Downing merges his enjoys of basketball and classical figure painting in the creation of his surreal portraits. Concurrently grand and personal, Downing’s singular aesthetic stems from his qualifications in picture montage. He depicts his subjects—uncanny fusions of various portraits—draped in the jerseys of their preferred players, exploring themes of grandeur, perseverance, and the romance amongst idol and idolizer.

“My paintings goal to depict topics that are at the same time monstrous amalgamations of portraiture and sincere, complex readings of people today,” Downing explains. “These subjects are in a natural way noticed as the idolizer, but upon closer inspection, could be found as mirror images of the idols themselves, adapting factors of the latter in research of a singular id. It is as a result of this romance, my system, and the aesthetics I curate, that my paintings let for new conversations to be created about an age-old recreation.”

A choice of these illustrations or photos are on see as a result of September as portion of Downing’s debut solo clearly show, ‘Countryside Jumpshot,’ curated by League OTO, at NYCH Gallery, Chicago.

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