Reflective Spaces

Shaun Downey’s new show at Arcadia Contemporary uses mirrors for his figures to gaze inward, as well as out.

- Michael Clawson

A docent once told me that it’s abundantly clear when a museum guest has found a piece that has deeply moved them. They linger at the work, studying its movements and the lyrical notes therein. They peer at it intently, absorbing it, letting it rinse through their very being. The docent will occasionally meander over to offer an additional thought or brief story about the work, and will invariably ask what inspired them. The answer, the docent said, is almost always the same: people see themselves in the work, or elements of themselves. “You could hang a mirror, but you get better results with the paintings,” the docent said.

This idea of works of art reflecting back onto the viewer is the central theme of a new Shaun Downey show, Reflection, opening December 8 at Arcadia Contemporary in Pasadena, California.

The Toronto-based Downey, who has long painted figures in deep reflection within the confines of minimalist interior spaces, has recently been adding another dimension of reflection in his work.

“A lot of the pieces are with the figure reflected in glass or a mirror, with the lone figure just taking a pause to reflect on life. So in that way both sides of the paintings are reflections, the figure looking out and the viewer looking in,” he says. “In many ways this is a tribute to the fact that we live in a hyper-connected world we’re never alone in even when we’re by ourselves with our cellphones blinking and beeping in our pocket. It is very difficult to spend time by yourself, and yet we’re all craving more and more alone time because we’re pressured to tell people where we’re at or what we’re doing or what we’re eating for supper.”