Jonathon Downing

b. 1997, USA
Lives and works in Michigan (USA)

Jonathon Downing 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 becoming 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 both national and international collections.