Sean McDowell is an emerging, German-born artist based in Melbourne (Naarm), Australia. Working primarily across painting, drawing and exhibition-making, Sean’s practice is inspired by his interests in biology and microscopy – to neuroscience, psychology and spirituality. Located at the intersection of art and science, his artworks contribute to the rich history of Abstraction, paired together with subject matter that has been informed by collective narratives and lived experiences of disease and illness. He is particularly interested in confronting the repercussions that emotional distress and physical violence have on human behaviour, thought patterns and other aspects of day to day life. Embodying a strong sense of hope and optimism for the future, Sean’s work provides a message intended to inspire growth and healing. Driven by a passionate, ongoing engagement with the poetics of materiality and mindfulness-based processes, McDowell is fascinated by imagery that oscillates between representation and abstraction – observation and the imagination. Considering the interconnectedness between conscious and subconscious levels of understanding, his artworks allow the potential for different views and interpretations to arise from within the viewer. The act of collecting lies at the heart of his practice, which is informed by the accumulation of photographs, anatomical diagrams and archival material that ranges from molecular structures, graphs, and cellular imagery - to CT and MRI scans of his brain following an ABI that was incurred in 2015.

Consisting of intricate patterns, organic shapes and energetic line networks, McDowells’ work offers an idiosyncratic portrayal of the microscopic cells that make up the basic structural and functional units of all carbon based lifeforms. Resembling biological matter - ranging from healthy to deteriorating - he is fascinated with the relationship between micro and macro, where fractals repeat self-similarly. Depicting magnified imagery of blood, skin, molecules and synapses, McDowell invites us to consider our complex relationship to ourselves and the natural world. Rendered through the application of translucent glazes, McDowells’ visual language uses contrasting colours, depth, texture and scale to create work that evokes various sensual, emotional and psychological states. Throughout the process, he uses a combination of brushes, sponges, drip bottles, rags and scraper tools to form multi-layered surfaces that shift and fluctuate across the surface. Deeply attuned to the phenomena of perception, McDowells’ practice offers a glimpse into the awe-inspiring world of microorganisms that forms, connects and surrounds all universal matter.

Sean McDowell (b. 1997) was born in Erlangen, Germany to parents of Irish and South African heritage. He immigrated toAustralia in 2004, where he has since resided in Melbourne. In 2018, he received a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Sculpture & Spatial Practice) from TheVictorian College of the Arts, The University of Melbourne, followed by a Bachelor of Fine Art (First Class Honours) in 2020 from the same institution. McDowell was selected as one of seven artists for the 2023 Billilla Studio Residency Program through the Bayside City Council, and has been the recipient of grants, including a Fringe Fund Ralph McClean Microgrant (2023), Kingston Arts Grant (2020), a City of Melbourne COVID-19 Arts Grant(2020) and a City of Yarra Small Projects Grant (2022). In 2018, he was the recipient of the Perrin Sculpture Foundry Award, and has been a finalist in numerous prizes, including The Mary and Lou Senini Student Art Award, McClelland Gallery & Sculpture Park (2017), The Footscray Tertiary Art Prize (2017), and The Keith and Elisabeth Murdoch Fellowship (2019) at The Fiona and Sidney Myer Gallery.

Selected solo exhibitions include Backdown to Earth, @14 Langridge (2023), Bruise, Castlemaine Contemporary Art Space (2023), Organisms, Five Walls (2022),In the day I dream of faraway places, Kingston Arts Centre (2021) The Staging of Actions Past, St. Francis (2019) and Cuprum, Cuprum, Kings Artist Run (2019). His work has been included in group exhibitions including Refuge, workshop, stage, site: Billilla Artist Studios 2023-23, Bayside Gallery (2023), Lifeforms, Lennox St. Gallery (2023), Shifting Forces, CAVES (2022), From Heart & Mind, The Dax Centre (2020), Extended Gestures Extended, Five Walls (2019) and Group Conversations: Australia’s Shame, George Paton Gallery (2017). His work is held public, private and corporate collections throughout Australia, and internationally in USA, Singapore, Germany and The Netherlands.

Sean acknowledges the Wurundjeri and Bunurong peoples of the Kulin nation as the traditional custodians of the land on which he lives and works. He pays his respects to Elders past, present and emerging. Sovereignty was never ceded.

Image credit: Photo: Mark Ashkanasy. Courtesy of Bayside Gallery