Fashion portraits

Portraits of Paloma Picasso, Catherine Deneuve, Iman, Linda Evangelista, and Dita Von Teese were painted in a somewhat casual manner, using the illustrator’s original mixed black ink and watercolor technique. They lift up somewhat the dense veil separating the ordinary everyday world from the world of glamor and good taste. The gallery’s current exhibition is especially pleasant sight, though, because the celebrities’ portraits show the viewer not just the world of fashion or film, but also the most important phenomenon of graceful female beauty caught in a fleeting moment of modern life.

The artist paints portraits of celebrities using his great skill to uncover the unique, elegant and feminine personality from under the veil of artificial beauty. His spellbinding images carry the unique scent of high fashion and invite us into the highly-publicized life of Western elites. Characteristically, Downton became really popular after producing a portrait of Cate Blanchett for the cover of Vogue Australia’s anniversary issue in 2009. He painted many portraits afterwards and has rightfully become one of the most famous fashion illustrators of the past decade.

Downton has shown to the Kyivan public that came to the Mironova Gallery his fashion art pieces as well as portraits of contemporary fashion, film, and show business celebrities that graced the pages of cult publications Harper’s Bazaar, L’Officiel, and Vogue. Dita Von Teese once said in an interview: “It is such an amazing feeling to be painted. I was completely mesmerized by the beauty of his art and the way he created it.”

The quality of the artist’s work has been proven most convincingly by the fact that some of his paintings were purchased by the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Downton’s trip to Kyiv is supported by his close partners from the cult jewelry brand Tiffany & Co; the exhibition is also sponsored by Hyatt Regency Kyiv hotel and Grand Cru wine shop.