December 2020
“Reaching for the Sun”
by William Downs
for Adult Swim Mural Project
at Squash Blossom Boutique
William Downs wants his work to speak the truth. With this, he finds pleasure in admiring and studying human behavior; drawing while traveling, from everyday life, and from dreams; keeping a visual record of the interactions observed between others and within his own psychology. By using the figure as a foundation, he builds bodies and landscapes with lines and layering of lines, giving him the ability to mix formal and surreal elements which are united on the surface of his drawings.
William Downs works in a range of mediums but focuses primarily on drawing. He was born and raised in Greenville, South Carolina, and currently lives and works in Atlanta. He received a Multidisciplinary M.F.A .from the Mount Royal School of Art at the Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, and a B.F.A. in Painting and Printmaking from the Atlanta College of Art and Design.
His work has been presented at numerous venues in the United States and abroad. Downs is currently represented by Sandler Hudson Gallery, works as a Drawing and Painting Lecturer at Georgia State University, and runs a gallery called Day & Night Projects.
“The line is one of the most elemental forms of mark-making: it is singular, yet serves to be manipulated and layered to create something more infinite than itself. ”