Jessica Downs is a multimedia artist originally from southern Utah whose work focuses on the study of landscapes, both metaphorical and physical, internal and external, as well as the ecopsychological connection between identity and environment. Utilizing painting, drawing, printmaking, and digital collage, Downs visually expresses these investigations of the mind through transparent layers that are familiar, foreign, and rooted in the liminal space between observation and introspection, creating a repository for experiences, feelings, memories, and exploration.

Downs is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Painting, Drawing, and Printmaking at Utah Valley University. She has had work featured in the Utah Conference of Undergraduate Research, UVU Museum of Art’s 2023 Student Art Exhibition, and the Springville Museum of Art’s 36th Annual Spiritual and Religious Art of Utah Exhibition. Her work has been published in the UVU Art and Design Department’s publication Composing Chaos and was selected as the cover of Touchstones, UVU’s premier journal for literature and art, where she also received the First Place award in art.

ARTIST STATEMENT
My work is rooted in the observation of landscapes, both metaphorical and physical, internal and external, as well as the ecopsychological connection between identity and environment. Whether closely examining living organisms like root systems and trees, studying the topographies of rock formations, or reconstructing internal structures of the body, I combine these forms into abstract images that are both foreign and familiar, conveying the vast range of thought and emotion within the human experience. In investigating this human-nature connection, my work reflects these ideas through the creation of multifaceted abstract landscapes and psychological spaces. The close examination of natural materials and patterns experienced in nature allow me to form connections between environment and self, often causing natural forms to transition from external imagery to the internal topographies of the body. Utilizing multiple mediums like painting, drawing, printmaking, and digital collage, carefully rendered contours of forms and the use of colors found in nature are both observed and intuitive, built using transparent layers that are constantly added and subtracted, as a way to describe the constant evolution of nature and the search for the understanding of its connection and influence on the human psyche. I am interested in the liminal space between observation and introspection as a means of creating a repository for experiences, feelings, memories, and exploration that elicits an emotional response, seeking to expand on the perception of self and foster a healthier relationship between humans and nature that ultimately promotes overall health and economic sustainability.

IMAGES

Jessica Downs, “Manifestation of Thought,” oil on canvas, 48×48 in.

Jessica Downs, “Vital Origins,” 2023, monotype, 24×18 in.

Jessica Downs, “Solace in the Unknown,” 2023, oil on panel, 30×24 in.

Jessica Downs, “Visceral 3,” 2023, monotype, 14×11 in.

Jessica Downs, “Resonance,” 2023, oil on panel, 30×24 in.

Jessica Downs, “Fragile Existence,” 2023, mixed media, 36×36 in.

Jessica Downs, “Of Earth,” 2023, collagraph, 30×22 in.

Jessica Downs, “A Delicate Balance,” 2023, collagraph, 20×16 in.

Jessica Downs, “Signs of Life,” 2023, collagraph, 16×20 in.

Jessica Downs, “Hide and Seek,” 2023, mixed media, 48×30 in.

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