Santa Cruz County Open Studios Art Tour, Santa Cruz, CA
2023
Out of the Fire, Pajaro Valley Arts Council Gallery, Watsonville, CA
Passages, Susana Arias & Barbara Downs, Curated by the Sea, Santa Cruz, CA
Take Aways: Art To Go!, Pajaro Valley Arts Council Gallery, Watsonville, CA
2022
Take Aways: Art To Go!, Pajaro Valley Arts Council Gallery, Watsonville, CA
2022
Personal Structures — Reflections, invitational, curated by the European Cultural Centre (ECC) in the context of the 59th Venice Biennale,
Palazzo Mora, Venice, Italy
this is now. 3-day exhibit of award winners, Curated by the Sea, Santa Cruz, CA, 2022
this is now. A tri-gallery exhibit of the Visual Arts Network, Radius Gallery, Santa Cruz, CA, Curators’ Pick award
Take Aways: Art To Go!, Pajaro Valley Arts Council Gallery, Watsonville, CA
2021
2020 Vision – Seeing Ourselves Through Challenging Times, Cabrillo Gallery, Aptos, CA, 2021
Take Aways: Art To Go! 2021, Pajaro Valley Arts Council Gallery, Watsonville, CA
450 Pieces, A Tri-Gallery exhibition of the Visual Arts Network members, R. Blitzer Gallery, Santa Cruz, CA
Rydell Fellowship 2022-2023 Nomination
2020
Take Aways: Art To Go! 2020, Pajaro Valley Arts Council Gallery, Watsonville, CA
2019
Personal Structures — Identities, invitational, curated by the European Cultural Centre (ECC) in the context of the 58th Venice Biennale, Palazzo Mora, Venice, Italy
The Very Very Rare Affordable Art Fair, JCO’s Art Haus, Los Gatos, CA
A Figurative Affair V, R. Blitzer Gallery, Santa Cruz, CA
Yuma Art Symposium: The Show, exhibition and presentation, Yuma Art Center, Yuma, AZ
Arizona Western College, Artist lecture in conjunction with Yuma Art Symposium, Yuma, AZ
Rydell Fellowship 2020-2021 Nomination
2018
de/re/construct, Jeff King & Co., San Francisco, CA
Sculpture Is: In the Garden, a collaborative piece by Jamie Abbott and Barbara Downs, Sierra Azul Nursery, Watsonville, CA
Take Aways: Art To Go! 2018, Pajaro Valley Arts Council Gallery, Watsonville, CA
Santa Cruz County Open Studios Art Tour, Santa Cruz, CA
2017
Art in the Arboretum: Environmental Installation, A collaborative piece with Jamie Abbott, Barbara Downs, Roy Holmberg, Invitational, UCSC Arboretum, Santa Cruz CA
Figurative Affair 2017, R. Blitzer Gallery, Santa Cruz, CA
take aways Art To Go 2017, Pajaro Valley Arts Council Gallery, Watsonville, CA
stARTup Fair LA, Hollywood, CA
2016
12×12(x12): An Open Invitational 2016, Cabrillo Gallery, Aptos, CA
Art in the Arboretum: Color, Invitational, UCSC Arboretum, Santa Cruz CA
Sculpture Is — Indoor at the Gallery, Pajaro Valley Arts Council Gallery, Watsonville CA
Pacers Annual Benefit (Auction), Minneapolis Convention Center, Minneapolis, MN
2015
Luck of the Draw, Santa Cruz Art League, Santa Cruz, CA
Beasts on Broadway, Santa Cruz Art League, Santa Cruz, CA, Juror: Melissa Pickford
Freehand: A Drawing Show, Pajaro Valley Arts Council Gallery, Watsonville, CA
A Figurative Affair 2015, R. Blitzer Gallery, Santa Cruz, CA
2014
12×12 (x12): An Open Invitational, Cabrillo Gallery, Aptos, CA
2013
2013 Painting Exhibition, Triton Museum of Art, San Jose, CA
Stars Auction and Exhibit, Live Auction, Museum of Art and History, Santa Cruz, CA
Canvas for a Community, Feldner Project, Santa Cruz CA
A Figurative Affair 2013, R. Blitzer Gallery, Santa Cruz, CA
The Drawing Salon, Invitational, Eloise Pickard Smith Gallery, UCSC, Santa Cruz, CA
Sleight of Hand, Pajaro Valley Arts Council Gallery, Watsonville, CA
2012
Monterey Bay: Land, Air & Sea, Invitational, Pajaro Valley Arts Council Gallery, Watsonville, CA
Wax: Contemporary Encaustic Works, Pajaro Valley Arts Council Gallery, Watsonville, CA
Solo Exhibition, Vinocruz, Santa Cruz, CA
A Figurative Affair, R. Blitzer Gallery, Santa Cruz, CA
2011
Stars Auction and Exhibit, Museum of Art and History, Santa Cruz, CA
Mix It Up!, Santa Cruz Art League, Santa Cruz, CA, award
Summer Gallery Invitational, R. Blitzer Gallery, Santa Cruz, CA
Solo Show, Lulu’s at the Octagon, Museum of Art and History, Santa Cruz, CA
EDGE: Art on the Westside, R. Blitzer Gallery, Santa Cruz, CA
Figuratively Speaking, Davenport Gallery, Davenport, CA
2010
2nd Annual Artists Look at Human Rights, Louden Nelson Community Center, Santa Cruz, CA
Stars Auction and Exhibit, Live Auction, Museum of Art and History, Santa Cruz, CA
Search for Self, Monterey Peninsula College Gallery, Monterey, CA
Go Figure!, juried by George Rivera, Santa Cruz Art League, Santa Cruz, CA
Three Painters: Figure + Form, Michaelangelo Gallery, Santa Cruz, CA
Los Pájaros, Pajaro Valley Arts Council Gallery, Watsonville, CA
California, juried by Ruth Braunstein and Shannon Trimble, Cabrillo Gallery, Aptos, CA
50-50 Show II, juried by Marian Parmenter, Sanchez Art Center, Pacifica, CA
Fur, Fins and Feathers, juried by Karen Kienzle, Pacific Art League, Palo Alto, CA, award
2009
National Drawing & Sculpture Exhibit, Santa Cruz Art League, Santa Cruz, CA, award
Stars Auction and Exhibit, Museum of Art and History, Santa Cruz, CA
Artists Look at Human Rights, Louden Nelson Community Center, Santa Cruz, CA
Solo Show, Seabright Brewery, Santa Cruz, CA
Beasts on Broadway, juried by George Rivera, Santa Cruz Art League, Santa Cruz, CA
cabrilloArts/cabrilloArtists, Pajaro Valley Gallery, Watsonville, CA
Figures and Faces, juried by George Rivera, Pacific Art League, Palo Alto, CA
Wide Open, Juried by Philip Linhares, Sebastopol Center for the Arts, Sebastopol, CA
Trimodia, MichaelAngelo Gallery, Santa Cruz, CA
2008
Stars Auction and Exhibit, Museum of Art and History, Santa Cruz, CA
The Art of Healing, Mill Gallery, Santa Cruz, CA
Los Gatos Art Association Annual Open Juried Show, juried by George Rivera, Los Gatos, CA, award
Art is Essential, Invitational, Gavilan College, Gilroy, CA
2007
Wanderings, Pajaro Valley Gallery, Watsonville, CA
Solo Show, Seabright Brewery, Santa Cruz, CA
2006
The Art of Painting, juried by George Rivera, Santa Cruz Art League, Santa Cruz, CA
A Sense of Place, Pajaro Valley Gallery, Watsonville, CA
76th Annual Statewide Exhibit, juried by Karen Kienzle, Santa Cruz Art League, Santa Cruz, CA
1990’s
Two-Artist Show, Mudzimu Gallery, Santa Cruz, CA, 1996
Poets and Painters, Invitational, Galleria Tonantzin, San Juan Batista, CA, 1995
Planet Earth: Artists and the Environment, Invitational, Pajaro Valley Gallery, Watsonville, CA, 1994
California Works, juried by Inez Storer, California State Fair, Sacramento, CA, 1994, award
Chaminade Artists’ Series Quarterly Show, Chaminade Conference Center, Soquel, CA, 1994
Alumni Art Exhibition, juried by Rebecca M. Schapp, UCSC, Santa Cruz, CA, 1993, award
Two-Artist Show, The Art Museum of Santa Cruz County Sales/Rental Gallery, 1993
1980’s
Barbara Downs: Works on Paper, Solo Show, Alumni Office/Carriage House, UCSC, Santa Cruz, CA, 1989
Solo Show, Alumni Office/Carriage House, UCSC, Santa Cruz, CA, 1988
Women Artists, Invitational, Porter College, UCSC, Santa Cruz, CA, 1985
Women Printmakers, Invitational, Oakes College, UCSC, Santa Cruz, CA, 1984
Solo Show, Merrill Lounge, UCSC, Santa Cruz, CA, 1984
Solo Show, Merrill Lounge, UCSC, Santa Cruz, CA, 1984
Reviews
Barbara Downs “Making my own paradise” a Palazzo Mora, Sempione News, Cultura, Eventi Culturali, Mostre e Arte, 14 Novembre 2019, click here to open
Lectures and Teaching
Yuma Art Symposium, Yuma, AZ, Artist Lecture and demo, 2019
Arizona Western College, Yuma, AZ, Artist Lecture, 2019
Art Extravaganza Encaustic Workshop, Watsonville, CA, 2009
Selected Publications and Presentations
Porter Gulch Review 2010, publication of the Cabrillo College Writing Program, back cover art and pgs. 105 & 108
KSBW Mid-Day News Program, presentation of work as promotional piece for Santa Cruz County Open Studios, Salinas, CA, October 13, 1992
Public Collections
Special Collections, McHenry Library, UCSC, Santa Cruz, CA, group portfolio purchase
S.A.P. America Corporation, Foster City, CA
Education
B.A., Studio Art, UCSC, Santa Cruz CA, 1985
Undergraduate studies, University of Redlands, Redlands CA