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, surrealis... 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
