JONATHON DOWNING NEW EXHIBITION 'COUNTRYSIDE JUMPSHOT'
NYCH Gallery presents ‘Countryside Jumpshot’ featuring artist, Jonathon Downing curated by League OTO. Downing’s new exhibition / opening will be this Friday, starting at 6pm. Enjoy the great exhibit!
Congrats Jonathon!
Jonathon Downing
Countryside Jumpshot
OPENING... Friday July 8,
6:00pm - 10:00pm
Curated by: @leagueoto
Combining serene, rural aesthetics with the fast paced, spectacular nature of professional basketball, Jonathon Downing’s new series “Countryside Jumpshot”, takes his method of montaged portraiture and creates realistic caricatures that physically exist in their own world, but become attached to ours in a way that is unexpectedly human.
Downing’s personal attachment to the game of basketball is one that has been evident in his work since Undergraduate school, as have the digital and physical processes used to create his portraits, but the addition of country aesthetics is a recent development. This juxtaposition of rural landscapes and an urban sport make for images that create a conceptual balancing act, a spectacle, and a setting that aims to be as alive as the subjects that inhabit it.
This method of world-building parallels that of a fanbase, who become enamored with their favorite players and teams, creating a community that is unique. Downing feels that it is common to forget that those we idolize are human just like their fans, so his paintings illustrate that even though the portrait is put on a pedestal, they are still able to connect with the viewer.
Utilizing repetitive references to success, power and glory, these superhuman figures mirror the public image of the basketball superstars that Downing, and fans alike, look up to. “Reach for the Sky”, a painting matched in its size by its imposing horse, unicorn and bull mixture, calls to mind these themes as the figure rides the majestic steed into the arena. This warrior is a dramatic representation of the basketball superstar, one that explores the connection the fan makes between themselves and their idol.
Aiming to deepen this human connection between the viewer and the portrait, paintings such as “Dreaming of the Past” showcase the cracks in the public image we all put on, digging into the heart of the subject in search of common ground.
To Downing, that is where the true beauty of this series can be found, when the viewer creates their own connection to the fictional subject. Even though they do not truly know each other, that bond is personal, and as seen throughout the history of professional basketball, capable of lasting for years.
