This exhibition and related programming is funded in part by a grant from from South Arts in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts, The Tennessee Arts Commission Arts Build Communities Grant, the Arts & Culture Alliance, Knox County, the Department of the Treasury, and by UT co-sponsorship from the School of Art Programming Committee.
OCTOBER 26 – DECEMBER 12, 2024
UT DOWNTOWN GALLERY | 106 S. Gay Street
William Downs’ artwork explores themes of ambiguity and distortion viewed through repetition and representation of the human body. His drawings reveal “feelings of anxiety, fear, joy, angst” or desire with compositions inspired by Cezanne that appear dream-like or otherworldly. He often depicts “people who train their bodies to do inhuman things like run a marathon or bend and contort their bodies,” in surreal-like, panoramic scenes. Multiple figures are layered with warped perspective, creating contrasting areas of compositional ambiguity and sharp focus.
With assistance from graduate students in the School of Art, Downs will create a site-specific wall drawing in the UT Downtown Gallery.
First Fridays
Friday, November 1, 5-9pm
Friday, December 6, 5-9pm
We hope you’ll be able to join us for one or both of our First Friday events. First Fridays are free and open to the public.
Artist Lecture
Tuesday, October 22, 2024
5:30pm | McCarty Auditorium, A+A 109
Downs received a BFA in Painting and Printmaking from the Atlanta College of Art and Design and a multidisciplinary MFA from the Mount Royal School of Art at the Maryland Institute College of Art. His awards include Artadia, The Working Artist Project at Museum of Contemporary Art GA, and The Nellie Mae Rowe Fellowship at Hambidge Creative Residency Program. His work has been included in national shows with Art AIDS America and Black Pulp! curated by Mark Thomas Gibson and William Villalongo. Downs has exhibited at venues nationally and abroad including: Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, MO; Zuckerman Museum of Art, Kennesaw, GA; Slag Gallery, NYC; International Print Center, NYC; The Contemporary Art Museum at the University of South Florida, Tampa; the African American Museum, Philadelphia, PA; Abroms-Engel Institute for the Visual Arts at the University of Alabama, Birmingham; the Century Gallery in London; and Derek Eller Gallery, NYC. His work is held in collections such as The High Museum of Art, Atlanta, GA; The Birmingham Museum of Art, AL; and The Smithsonian Museum of Art, Washington, D.C.
ASL is available upon request. Please contact the gallery if you will be needing this service.
