Working under the moniker of Unskilled Worker, her paintings are both intimate and evocative, mixing characters and nature with the ephemeral and fantastical.
Her work has been chronicled extensively and has attracted a large audience worldwide. Her paintings have appeared in many publications, including Artnet, The New York Times, Vanity Fair, Vogue, Dazed, Harper’s Bazaar and i-D. Her paintings are collected nationally and internationally and have been exhibited at galleries across the world including London, Hong Kong, Seoul, Madrid, Tokyo and Shanghai.
In 2015 her work was exhibited at the Minsheng Art Museum in Shanghai, alongside the work of Rachel Feinstein, Jenny Holzer, Cao Fei and others. In 2016, a specially commissioned portrait by the artist was featured as a limited-edition cover of Bazaar Art alongside six leading contemporary female artists. During the same year her work was featured alongside works by Turner Prize winner Grayson Perry at a contemporary art auction and exhibition in recognition of Shape Arts’ 40th anniversary.
In 2017, Gucci collaborated with the artist by launching a 40-piece collection featuring her artwork. To coincide with the launch her art was displayed on art walls and fly posters in London, New York, Paris, Milan and Shanghai. Later in the same year Downie’s work featured in ‘Great Women Artists’ exhibition at Mother, London
In 2018 Downie’s work was exhibited by Aki Atelier Gallery in Seoul and Hong Kong and in Mark Shand’s Adventures and Curiosities at Hauser & Wirth. In 2019, Downie exhibited at D Museum in Seoul and the Museo ABC de Dibujo e Ilustración in Madrid, and in 2020 at Hauser & Wirth alongside works by Anish Kapoor, Antony Gormley and Richard Wentworth, with a subsequent auction in aid of the pioneering ‘Hospital Rooms’ charity.
In 2021, to mark International Women’s Month, W1 Curates showcased Downie’s work on one of the world’s largest permanent digital public art installations in London. That same year, her work was featured in Institut’s inaugural exhibition and physical showcase, presented by Unit London.
In April 2022, her first solo exhibition in Italy, One Cup of Sugar, opened at Luca Tommasi Arte in Milan.
In 2024, Downie presented When You’re a Boy at Daniel Cooney Fine Art in New York.
