HELEN DOWNIE

Helen Downie’s idiosyncratic, expressive and intimate paintings transport the viewer into a peculiar world, where walls have eyes and women, fish and birds stand on equal footing. Joining us on the residency in October 2022 Downie continued her exploration into these dreamlike spaces with her works Solfeggio, Sleep and Last Song, alongside her ongoing portraits of boys with Into the Rain and Untitled.

Playing with perspective and familiarity the works give the sense of a place once lived in, or a boy once known. Her distinctive style of eyes imbues the works with intense emotion. Sleep, 2022, utilises this to create a calming environment for the viewer, tucked into one of the artist's sanctuaries. In other paintings, the bright colours and subjects' arresting stares distracts the gaze from a sinister undertone, usually represented by a deceased bird. It is open to interpretation if this suggests a bad omen, or a glimmer of hope, signalling a transformative state and a new beginning.

Solo Shows include; one cup of sugar, Luca Tommasi Arte, Milan, Italy, 2022. Group shows include; In Conversation Now!, Shapero Rare Books, London, 2022; Small is Beautiful, Flowers Gallery, London, 2022; W1 Curates, Digital public art installation, London, 2021; Hauser and Wirth, London, UK, 2020; D Musem, Seoul, Korea, 2019; Museo ABD de Dibujo e llustración, Madrid, Spain, 2019; Aki Atelier Gallery, Seoul, Hong Kong, 2018; Adventures and Curiosities, Hauser and Wirth, London, 2018; Unskilled Worker X Gucci, Gucci, London, New York, Paris, Milan and Shanghai, 2017; Great Women Painters, Mother, London, 2017.