Jeff Downing Presentation
Thursday evening, Aug 4th, David and I attended an artist presentation at the Donkey Mill Art Center, located at the bottom of our hill within walking distance of the farm.
Jeff is a large, strong looking man which makes him capable of the large ceramic projects he creates. He brought his family with him to the informal potluck event.
His presentation consisted of slides from his early work up to the present. He is Associate Professor of Art at San Francisco State University.
His presentation became more lively as he talked about his latest works. He is now doing very large (8 to 12 ft tall) dogs. You can tell he is influenced by Giacometti and Picasso. He travels with his crates of ceramic pieces to various locations throughout the United States and sets up his dogs in public areas for an extended exhibition. They are quite unique and engaging.
I was at first skeptical of an artist who sculpted dogs, but became enthralled at the creative figures, the process of putting the large sculptures together for exhibition, and his lively personality. Each dog seems to be similar in appearance, in that they seem to be the same breed of dog, but they also have their own personality and of course each one has a name.
*Artist Talk and Aloha Potluck with Jeff Downing
Thursday, August 4, 6 - 8pm
Ceramist Jeff Downing discovered clay while studying music composition at the State University of New York at Purchase. His first ceramics class there changed the course of his career. Drawn by its reputation for experimentation in the arts, he moved to San Francisco California where he began to explore hand-built clay sculpture under the tutelage of artists David Kuraoka and Stephen DeStaebler. He went on to receive his MFA in 1992 and is currently an Associate Professor of Art at San Francisco State University.
Jeff Downing's sculpture is informed by the humor and pop sensibility of the California artist Robert Arneson; by the stripped-down economy of Alberto Giacometti's figures; and by the spontaneity and energy characteristic of the work of Pablo Picasso. Downing's work with dog imagery depends on chance discovery of form, but seeks to invoke feelings concerning the human condition and our varied relationship with the natural world. In Jeff Downing's world view, studying the dog - with all of its expressiveness, intelligence and sensitivity - leads us to a better understanding of the connection between human culture and nature.
Jeff Downing's sculpture is informed by the humor and pop sensibility of the California artist Robert Arneson; by the stripped-down economy of Alberto Giacometti's figures; and by the spontaneity and energy characteristic of the work of Pablo Picasso. Downing's work with dog imagery depends on chance discovery of form, but seeks to invoke feelings concerning the human condition and our varied relationship with the natural world. In Jeff Downing's world view, studying the dog - with all of its expressiveness, intelligence and sensitivity - leads us to a better understanding of the connection between human culture and nature.
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