First discovered by Basquiat in Paris in 1988, Watts established himself as one of the seminal African contemporary artists to make a splash on the New York gallery scene. Displaying his own brand of Neo-Expressionism, critic Lilly Wei describes his work as blending “seriousness, play, surrealist inclinations and retro splendor.” Since his debut, Watts’ work has been featured prominently in numerous museum exhibitions and institutions , including Documenta 11, Kassel, Germany; the 2002 Whitney Biennial, New York; the 1993 Venice B... Read more

First discovered by Basquiat in Paris in 1988, Watts established himself as one of the seminal African contemporary artists to make a splash on the New York gallery scene. Displaying his own brand of Neo-Expressionism, critic Lilly Wei describes his work as blending “seriousness, play, surrealist inclinations and retro splendor.” Since his debut, Watts’ work has been featured prominently in numerous museum exhibitions and institutions , including Documenta 11, Kassel, Germany; the 2002 Whitney Biennial, New York; the 1993 Venice Biennial; Black President: The Art and Legacy of Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, New Museum, New York; and The Short Century: Independence and Liberation Movements in Africa, 1945-1994, P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center, Long Island City, NY.

Ouattara Watts (b. 1957, Ivory Coast) lives and works in New York City. Watts received his education from L’École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris, France. He has had solo exhibitions at the Hess Art Collection, Paarl, South Africa; Maggazzino d’Arte Moderna, Rome, Italy; the Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH; MATRIX, University of California, Berkeley Art Museum; Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City, MO; Tracy Williams, Ltd., New York; Leo Koenig, Inc., New York; Baldwin Gallery, Aspen, CO; Gagosian Gallery, New York; Galeria Leyendeker, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain; Vrej Baghoomian Gallery, New York, NY; Mike Weiss Gallery, New York, NY; Akira Ikeda Gallery, Nagoya, Japan; and Galerie Boulakia, Paris, France