William Downs


William Downs is a contemporary artist who studies the intersections between drawing, painting, installation, and printmaking.
Born and raised in Greenville, South Carolina, William lives and works in Atlanta, Georgia. He studied at the Atlanta College of Art and Design where he received his BFA in Painting and Printmaking in 1996. He received his MFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art in 2003. He is currently being represented by the Sandler Hudson Gallery in Atlanta. William taught Foundation Drawing at the Maryland Institute College of Art from 2002 through 2010. He taught Advanced Drawing at Parsons The New School for Design, Foundation Drawing at The Cooper Union and Tulane University. His last role as a professor was held at Georgia State University in Atlanta, GA, teaching various drawing, life drawing, and studio courses.
Downs has shown in a sundry of group and solo exhibitions in the United States and abroad including the Nexus Biennial at the Nexus Contemporary Art Center in Atlanta, GA, and the Century Gallery in London, England. Downs’ work was featured in the Art AIDS America exhibition which toured nationally for a year headed by Rock Hushka and Johnathan Katz. His work was chosen for the prolific Black Pulp! exhibition piloted by the International Print Center New York. The exhibit showed at The Contemporary Art Museum at the University of South Florida as well as the African-American Museum in Philadelphia.
William’s piece Printed by the artist is in the IPCNY’s permanent collection. As part of a special three-minute show, William created sometimes it hurts alongside Basquiat and Samford Biggers at the St. Louis Contemporary Art Museum. He also has a permanent piece at the Birmingham Museum of Art’s Gallery Third Space. Additionally, William has been commissioned to create a mural for the co-workspace, Study, where he hopes to incorporate his figures in a working cityscape inspired by Diego Rivera’s Murals of Workers. William’s most recent shows featured painted figure wallscapes which held temporary residency until the show’s end. GrizzlyGrizzly in Philadelphia showed standing on the verge of…, and E.C. Lina of Los Angeles showed a soft place to land. The images were then covered in primer and paint, metaphysically but not visibly permanent. William was honored to be one of Artadia’s 2018 award recipients which granted him the ability to continue showing throughout the country.

Selected solo exhibitions

Exhibition, New York, NY