{"product_id":"downs-conversations-in-the-abstract-60-copy","title":"Downs,  (Conversations In The Abstract #60 )","description":"\u003cp\u003e\"Conversations In The Abstract #60\" by Downs\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e30 x 30” acrylic on canvas (2020) -- unframed\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\" data-mce-style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\n\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\n\u003cimg style=\"margin: 5px 8px 2px 5px; float: left;\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0261\/3941\/files\/IMG_4804_160x160.jpg?v=1649168243\" data-mce-selected=\"1\" data-mce-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0261\/3941\/files\/IMG_4804_160x160.jpg?v=1649168243\"\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eDowns is definitely a throwback in his overall view of painting. Now in his early 60’s he\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003ewas very fortunate to have had mentors such as Karl Benjamin and Frederick\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eHammersley in the mid 80's. Being in the presence of such noted painters impressed on\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003ehim the importance and responsibility of being true to one's own vision.\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e\"By speaking clearly in a non object idiom, the goal is to make art that reflects modern\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eday life. My process consists of layering spontaneous random marks that are\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003esometimes completely obscured. By working and reworking surfaces, I expose the\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003evarying depth of color which creates spaces that expand and contract, communicating\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e the work's shifting moods.” \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eThe current series “Conversations In The Abstract”, arose from a stroke Downs\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eexperienced in 2015. Downs’ perception of life as an artist changed. The stroke brought\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eon strange and unusual conversations in his mind, which he can only describe as\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eabstract. The task as he sees it is to translate these thoughts into painting, to convey\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003ethe aesthetics of his experiences in a positive manner. These visual conversations\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003escream out a sense of risky adventure, a collision of shapes and colours which create\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003ethe surface tension essential to animating his abstracts, creating a visual debate. The\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003estrength in these works is in the artist's understanding of color, balance and simplicity.\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eIn his previous body of work, \"Manhattan Series\", Downs recalls when he first moved to\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eNew York in the mid 70's. Emotions of the average person were on a much more\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eintense level as far as fear, crime and the overall lack of beauty in the city. For Downs,\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003ethis was an opportunity to experience firsthand the gritty and raw energy to be used in\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003ehis paintings to come. This body of work is his attempt to recreate the tension,\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e movement and color of that era. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eDowns has been painting professionally for over 40 years and has exhibited nationally\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eand internationally. His work has been included in group shows with noted artists such\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eas Andre Miripolsky, Mark Mothersbaugh and Karl Benjamin. Downs' works are\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e included in private collections throughout the world.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIf interested in individual works from this collection please send email to order@shopbaiaonline.com.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"downs","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52343701012762,"sku":"sbo_conversations_60_downs","price":3000.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0261\/3941\/products\/IMG_3251_2_crop.jpg?v=1615251098","url":"https:\/\/www.blackartinamerica.com\/products\/downs-conversations-in-the-abstract-60-copy","provider":"Black Art In America™ Gallery \u0026 Gardens","version":"1.0","type":"link"}