Hoard Ecstatic

T293 is pleased to present Hoard Ecstatic, the first exhibition in Italy by Cameron Patricia Downey, as part of the Pioneers program, dedicated to supporting emerging talents.

Cameron Patricia Downey is an anti-disciplinary artist whose work oscillates between sculpture, photography, film, body, curation and otherwise. Peering into the private lives of objects, seeing instruction in the incidental, the precarious and the misremembered, Downey’s work strives to archive, unfurl, make-altar-of and lend fantasy to the Blues of Black life and relation.

The title of the exhibition “Hoard Ecstatic” contains a double meaning that reflects the essence of the works on display. The term ‘Hoard’ refers to the accumulation and layering of objects, memories and meanings, while ‘Ecstatic’ recalls a state of intense emotion or ecstasy, which transforms everyday objects into autonomous and vibrant entities.

Through various forms of sculpture, the artist explores how the meaning of an object can transform or gain momentum through its repetition, drawing inspiration from the rhythm of the blues. A central theme in her work is the intimate respect and empathy Downey holds for objects. Through elevation, multiplication and placement of them at the center of attention, she investigate what happens when these objects, once meant to serve us, are freed from their functions.

“I am deeply interested in the processes and elements through which we choose to adorn and care for ourselves” the artist observes.

Wigs, initially perceived as simple ornaments, transform into symbols of presence and metamorphosis. In the installation, a group of performers, turned away from the viewer. These immediately evoke the idea of a headless body, or a crowd without a physical form. Both static and dynamic, the wigs appear as biological objects, akin to flowers or seeds ready to sprout. This interplay invites reflection: what changes in gathering compared to in solitude?

In a multitude of wigs of the same color, a few stand out with a different hue and texture, emerging as distinguishing elements, inspired by Ellsworth Kelly's color studies. Playing with this philosophy, Downey’s pieces serve as a hold between the artwork and the viewer, a point of connection and contention that both echoes and complicates Kelly’s desire to reduce art to its most essential elements.

BIOGRAPHY

Cameron Patricia Downey (1998, Minneapolis, Minnesota) graduated from Columbia University in 2021 with a double concentration in visual art and environmental science and is currently a first-year MFA candidate in sculpture at the Yale School of Art. They were the 2023 recipient of the Carolyn Glasoe Bailey Foundation’s MN Art Prize and are a recent artist in residence with the Walker Art Center’s Moving Image department, Juxtaposition Arts, Loghaven Artist Residency and Second Shift Studio Space of Saint Paul.

Downey’s work has been exhibited by HAIR+NAILS, Minneapolis; Kunstraum Kreuzberg/Bethanien, Berlin; Engage Projects, Chicago; Midway Contemporary Art, Minneapolis; M+B Gallery, Los Angeles; Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara; Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City; Walker Art Center, Minneapolis; Strada Gallery, New York.