Jessica Downs is a multimedia artist who examines the intricate connection between humans and nature. Through personal interactions with her environment, Downs' work encompasses the opposing realities that nature can engender, both beauty and danger, peace and destruction, and a fleeting space that harbors simultaneous feelings of connection and removal. Using various methods and materials, Downs arrives at imagery that is familiar, foreign, and rooted in the liminal space between observation and introspection, creating a repository for experiences, feelings, and memories.

 

Downs received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Painting and Drawing at Utah Valley University in 2024 summa cum laude and is currently attending Clemson University as an MFA candidate. Downs' work has been exhibited nationally, with recent shows in the Clara M. Lovett Art Museum, the Gertrude Institute of Art, and the UVU Museum of Art. Downs has been the recipient of multiple awards, including Utah Valley University’s Outstanding Student Award for the entire Art and Design Department and was selected as an inaugural participant of the V. Douglas Snow Arts Mentorship Program in Torrey, Utah.