Ouattara Watts

Ouattara Watts (born May 27, 1957) is an Ivory Coast-born American visual artist, known for his multimedia paintings that incorporate African and Western aesthetics and depict themes of spirituality and modernity.

In Paris, he met Jean-Michel Basquiat at an exhibition opening in January 1988. Basquiat was impressed by Watts's paintings and convinced him to move to New York City. They had a very short but important collaboration. In the documentary Basquiat, Une Vie, Watts was filmed in his studio, working and talking about Basquiat.

Watts has spent much of his career in New York.

Early life and education Ouattara Watts was born on May 27, 1957 in Abidjan on the Ivory Coast. He was given the name Bakari Ouattara at birth but later switched his name to Ouattara Watts when he moved to New York. Watts was raised in a household that practiced a syncretic religion, which combined beliefs from several religious traditions, including Christianity, Judaism, Islam, and their native West African spirituality. Inspired by their work, he relocated to Paris in 1977, at the age of nineteen, He is represented by Karma and Almine Rech.

Work influence and themes

Strongly influenced by his West African spiritual upbringing and lived experiences, Watts explores his multicultural identity through his work. Watts depicts themes of spirituality, Pan-Africanism, and modernism in his large scale, abstract compositions. Watts uses a variety of mediums, including found objects, materials, photographs, and paint, He places cultural references in his pieces to evoke themes of technology and spirituality, contrasting modernity with the long-established. His works are embedded with a visual language Watt’s work makes a stylistic connection to Neo-Expressionist painting, which developed in the late 1970s, through the iconography he illustrates throughout his work.

Solo exhibitions 2019 Ouattara Watts, Paul Rebeyrolle Museum, Limoges FRANCE. June 2 to November 17, Eymoutiers, F 2019 2018 Gallery Cecile Fakhoury, "Before Looking at this Work, Listen to It", Abidjan, Ivory Coast 2018 La Rotonde, "Get Ready", Abidjan, Ivory Coast 2018 Dakar Biennial, Senegal 2016 Magazzino d'Arte Moderna, Roma, Italy 2015 Galerie Boulakia, Paris, France 2012 Ouattara Watts, Vertigo by Vladimir Restoin Roitfeld, New York 2010 Hess Art Collection, International Contemporary Art at Glen Carlou, Paarl, South Africa 2009 Hess Art Collection, International Contemporary Art at Glen Carlou, Paarl South Africa 2008 Magazzino d'Arte Moderna, Roma, Italy 2008 Galeria Leyendecker, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain 2008 "Andy Goldsworthy and Ouattara Watts" Two person exhibition, eleven paintings and watercolors from 1992-2006 by Ouattara at International Contemporary Art at Glen Carlou, Paarl, South Africa 2007 "Ouattara Watts: For Lily" Mike Weiss Gallery, New York 2006 "Ouattara Watts: Works on Paper" Mike Weiss Gallery, New York 2004 Tracy Williams Gallery, New York 2004 "NH Crossing Currents - The Synergy of Jean-Michel Basquiat and Ouattara Watts" The Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover 2004 Magazzino d'Arte Moderna, Roma, Italy 2004 Marella Arte Contemporanea, Milan, Italy 2002 Leo Koenig, New York 2001 Magazzino d'Arte Moderna, Roma, Italy 1999 "Ouattara: in Roma" Magazzino d'Arte Moderna, Rome 1998 "Ouattara New Work" Baldwin Gallery, Aspen, Colorado 1996 "Ouattara Dark Star" Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City, Missouri 1995 "Ouattara: New Paintings" Gagosian Gallery, New York 1994 "Ouattara" Berkeley Art Museum, Berkeley, California 1993 Galerie Boulakia, Paris, France 1992 Vrej Baghoomian Gallery, New York 1990 Akira Ikeda Gallery, Nagoya, Japan 1989 Marilyn Butler Gallery, Los Angeles, California 1986 "Ouattara" Centre Culturel de la Rochelle, La Rochelle, France

Group exhibitions 2018 "African Metropolis, an Imaginary City", MaXXI, Roma, Italy 2017 Museum FMCCA, Milano, Italy 2017 Marella Gallery, Milan, Italy 2017 "Afrique Capitales", La Villette, Paris, France 2016 Dakar Biennal 2010 'In Dialogue' "Four Generations of Painting" Curated by Peter Makebish, Charest-Weinberg, Miami, Florida, USA. Artists: Donald Baechler, Ross Bleckner, Kadar Brock, Brendan Cass, Sante D'Orazio, Matt Jones, John Newsom, Hermann Nitsch, Bill Saylor, Kenny Scharf, Ouattara Watts, Dustin Yellin 2009 "Armory Show NYC" Magazzino d'Arte Moderna, Roma, Italy 2006 "Intersections: Shifting Identity in Contemporary Art" John Michael Kohler Arts Center, Sheboygan, Wisconsin 2006 "Realm of the Spirit. National Museum of African Art" Mike Weiss Gallery, New York 2006 "Body of Evidence " Smithsonian Institution, Washington 2003 "Black President - The Art and Legacy of Fela Anikulapo-Kuti" New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York City 2002 Documenta 11, Kassel, Germany 2002 Whitney Biennial, New York, USA 2002 " The Short Century: Independence and Liberation Movements in Africa 1945-1994. " P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center, Long Island City, New York, US 2000 "Transatlantic Dialog - In And Out of Africa" National Museum of African Art, Washington, US 1997 Chiba Museum of Art, Chiba, Japan 1994 "Un Altre Pais" Centro Atlantico de Arte Moderno, Las Palmas Fundacion, Spain 1994 La Caixa, Palma de Mallorca, La Virreina Expositions, Barcelona, Spain 1993 Venice Biennale, Italy Espace Lyonnais d'Art Contemporain, Tate Gallery 1990 " Images of Death in Contemporary Art" Patrick and Beatrice Haggerty Museum of Art, Milwaukee 1985 Musée National des Arts Africans et Océaniens, Paris

Books and catalogs 2018 "Ouattara Watts : Before Looking at this Work, Listen to It", Catalogue, 81 pages, English and French language, published by Galerie Cécile Fakhoury, Abidjan, 2018, 2010 Hess Art Collection" by Donald M. Hess and Myrtha Steiner. Hardcover: 372 pages, Publisher: Hatje Cantz (January 31, 2010), Language: English, , Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 10 x 1.3 inches 2007 Mike Weiss Gallery, USA, catalog 2004 Hood Museum of Art Crossing Currents - The Synergy of Jean-Michel Basquiat and Ouattara Watts, catalog 2003 New Museum. Black President: Fela Anikulapokuti, catalog 2002 Cantz, Hatje. Documenta II Platform 5, catalog 2002 Biennial Exhibition Whitney Museum, New York, Prentice Hall/Abrams, catalog 1999 Magazzino D'Arte Moderna "Ouattara Watts in Roma", catalog 1995 Janson, H. W. History of Art. 5th ed. New York: Prentice Hall/Abrams, catalog 1990 Barrière, Gérard. Ouattara. Galerie Boulakia, Paris, catalog 1989 Warren, Ben Michael and Vrej Baghoomian, eds. Ouattara, Art Random, Kyoto: Kyoto Shoin, International Co., Ltd., 1989. Introduction by Ben Michael Warren, catalog

Articles and reviews 2019 ARTFORUM, Ouattara Watts : Mara Hoberman February 2019 pages 196 2018 Anna Sylvestre-Treiner, Jeune Afrique, Gardien du Cosmos, n°3021, p. 86-87, December 2018, France 2018 Sarah Moroz, Modern Painters, "Thinking global, acting local", p. 17, p. 22, December 2018, USA 2018 Hannah O'Leary, Sothebys.com, From Côte d'Ivoire to Basquiat's New York, Interview, March 2018, UK 2015 Roxana Azimi, Le Monde, Ouattara Watts, le plus americain des artistes ivoiriens, April. 28 2015, France 2015 Clotide Scordia, Happening, Ouattara Watts, Mystical Storyteller, April. 22 2015, USA 2015 Henri-francois Debailleux, Le Journal des arts. no.434, France, 24 April to 7 May 2015 2012 Glenn O'Brien. Telles of Magic and Science in the Paintings by Quattara Watts. Alessandro Benetton's Blog March 26. 2012 2012 Karen Dayon, Ouattara Watts . Cool Hunting. New York. January 27/ 2012 2004 An article on Watts by Massimo Carboni published in Art Forum May 2004 2004 " Watts, l'ossessione magica dei numeri: L'artista ivoriano al Magazzino d'arte moderna" Pancotto, Pier Paolo, L' Unita Roma, 04.February.2004 (in Italian) 2002 Robinson, Walter. ArtNet.com Magazine Reviews, May 9 2002 Cotter, Holland. The New York Times, March 8 2001 Cotter, Holland. The New York Times, July 27 1995 Cotter, Holland. Mix of Culture, Politics and Bravado, The New York Times, May 19 "La pittura magica di Ouattara Watts" dated 01.31.2004 in Corriere della Sera (in Italian) "'Body' & Soul: Fleshing Out African Art" a review on Washington Post dated June 18, 2006 by Lynne Duke