6 spring street
new york city 10012
tel: 212.219.0166
info@jenbekman.com

downey & darius jones

bio

Darius Jones was born in Richmond Virginia in 1979 and grew up in Cincinnati OH. Downey was born in Louisville Kentucky in 1980 and grew up in various sections of the United States being the son of a military pilot. The two artists met in Brooklyn in the year 1999. Though their work rides in unison, the two artists couldn’t have come from more different artistic backgrounds. Downey brought himself up in traditional appreciation and execution of painting, creating works on canvass with attention to color, composition and proportion. Darius Jones brought himself up in the world of graffiti, focusing on letter forms, quantity, and the elusive tactics that go along with dodging authorities. Through their short time together, the two artists have learned to mold their respective strengths and weaknesses into a whole greater than the sum of its parts. The Darius Jones influence deems that all work is by definition "illegal" albeit on first glance it may not seem as so. The Downey influence dictates that all work must be balanced visually, by applying the most accepted axioms of painting into the most unaccepted of all art forms: graffiti. However the public may judge their work, vandalism or art, for these two artists it is something more, it is the joy of giving.

statement

As environmental artists we concern ourselves and work with the elements that surround us on a day to day level. The vast majority of our collaborative work has been installed outdoors with rare exceptions including the current exhibition. In this space we have paid close attention to the environment of the Jen Bekman Gallery not forsaking the energy and feeling which is at the core of our street work. The imagery is inspired by the experience of living and working in this great city, and is tailored to fit the confines of the space where it is exhibited.