Art on the Walls

The New Deal Cafe provides a venue for local artists to exhibit and sell their work. We have a showroom and glass display cases, and every other month new artwork is featured. Join us at a reception to meet the creative talent behind the next exhibit.

If you’re an artist, we’d love to talk to you about having a show at the cafe.

The cafe’s art exhibits are mounted by the New Deal Cafe Art Committee and sponsored by the Friends of New Deal Cafe Arts with support from Prince George’s County. Your tax-deductible donation to FONDCA supports art at the cafe.

June – August 2022: Paul Downs

The Granddaughters of Atlas

Paul Downs’ Stick Artworks

June 28 – August 28, 2022

Art Reception: Sunday, July 31 2-4 pm

Artist: Paul Downs. 240- 460 0814; 

According to myth, Atlas was given the task of holding up the heavens and earth and is well known to most through depictions of him arduously holding the earth on his shoulder.  What happened as the generations churned on?  Greenbelt artist, Paul Downs, provides his view of what might have evolved with his latest stick filled wonders of “The Granddaughters of Atlas”.

A series of landscapes, townscapes, scenes from the heavens and the oceans suggest that the “granddaughters” of Atlas would have a different approach to supporting the heavens and earth.  Downs’ newest creations come from a deep respect for the playful, fun, wildness of these unbridled maidens as they carry on the mission of their “grandfather” Atlas.

Through his exploration of the female form as an underlying support of our earthly and heavenly planes, Downs discovers the sometimes-whimsical antics they are up to.  Playing off the energizing rays of the sun, the women seem to lie just behind the veil of our reality as they enjoy the towns, trains, fish, and stars they are supporting.

Downs’ work highlights the elemental forces of air, water, sun, and gravity and, in the midst of our world, that is sometimes seen as dwindling or threatened he provides us with a sense of the bountiful and beautiful.

Generously, Downs also provides his hallmark creations of wildlife, community, and his beloved trains.  As always, he saturates the space with wondrous, fanciful images and shapes of all kinds.

Paul Downs is a Greenbelter from birth. He is well known for his stick creations and his work over decades to save the remaining Green Belt – our town’s namesake, now known as the Greenbelt Forest Preserve.  Contact Paul: 240 460 0814; . 

View the Granddaughters of Atlas by Paul Downs at the New Deal Café. The show runs from June 28- August 28; the artist reception will be on Sunday, July 31 2-4 pm at the New Deal Café.