Born and raised in Greenville, South Carolina, William  Downs works in a range of media, with a primary focus on drawing. He received a Multidisciplinary MFA from the Mount Royal School of Art at the Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, and a BFA in Painting and Printmaking from the Atlanta College of Art and Design. Downs taught Foundation Drawing at the Maryland Institute College of Art from 2002 through 2010, and Advanced Drawing at Parsons The New School for Design, Foundation Drawing at The Cooper Union, and Tulane University.

His work has been hosted at numerous venues in the United States and abroad, including residencies at Tempus Projects, here, in Ybor City.

Downs was represented by Moti Haasn Gallery, Slag Gallery, and Parker Jones Gallery. His work was part of Monster Drawing at the High Museum of Art, and On Paper at Field Work Gallery in Pittsburgh, PA . He was recently included in a group exhibition Art AIDS America at The Zuckerman Museum of Art in Kennesaw and Black Pulp!, curated by William Villalongo and Mark Thomas Gibson, organized by International Print Center New York. Downs is currently a Drawing and Painting Lecturer at Georgia State University.

“By using the figure as a foundation, I build bodies and landscapes with lines and layering of lines. 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. This gives me the ability to mix formal and surreal elements, which are united on the surface of my drawings.”

For purchase and exhibition inquiries, contact Tracy Midulla at Tempus Projects | tracy@tempus-projects.com | 813.340.9056