Jonathon Downing

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 the process of digital photo montage and realistic painting that he is known for. While Downing was raised and 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, promoting deeper observation in order to fully form a hypothesis on each character’s backstory and present emotions. Downing has shown these characters throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia and is included in dozens of national and international collections.


Artist Statement

My portraits aim to be all-encompassing representations of a singular character through the use of visual multiplicity. My process employs both digital and physical processes, creating compositions in Photoshop and rendering them in oil paint. I utilize images from fashion lookbooks, after which I add layers of imagery to depict the complexities of each subject. Once each composition is finished, I paint them. Common themes of my work include the juxtaposition of internal emotion and external image, the way that fashion and popular culture contribute to this dichotomy, measurements of success, idolization, and the idea of celebrity, all wrapped up in layers of color and gloss varnish. I utilize my own personal experiences and interests to tie in popular culture references, including fashion and music, but most prominently professional basketball. The themes in my work are shown through the lens of the basketball fan, exploring their relationship to the superhuman athletes who become icons worshiped by millions of people. The characters I paint inhabit an entirely different world, where six eyes is something one is born with, and the cracks in the mask they wear are as prominent as the beautiful image they show to the public.


Instagram: @jonathondowning