Ouattara WATTS
Born in Ivory Coast, 1957
Ouattara Watts’s large-scale canvases are dense with photographs and found objects and incorporate a universal visual language whose cryptic symbols, geometric diagrams, and numerical sequences speak to the artist’s cross-cultural identity. The Ivory-Coast-born artist moved to Paris in 1977 to study at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts and joined a tight-knit community of expat West African Francophone artists. While in Paris, he also met Jean-Michel Basquiat who, impressed by his work, encouraged Watts to move to New York. Their friendship blossomed around a shared interest in African art and spirituality. By the 1990s, Watts had become one of West Africa’s most famous artists. His work has been presented at the Venice Biennale, the Whitney Biennial, and Documenta, among other major international exhibitions. Incorporating images of traditional West African masks alongside references as diverse as Allen Ginsburg and the 2008 financial crisis, Watts’s work bridges ancestral and contemporary worlds.
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2013
“New Paintings”, The French Institute Alliance Francaise, NY
2009
Hess Art Collection, International Contemporary Art at Glen Carlou, Peral, South Africa
2008
Galería Leyendecker, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain
Magazzino d´arte moderno, Roma, Italia
2007
Mike Weiss Gallery, New York, NY
2006
Ouattara Watts: Works on Paper, Mike Weiss Gallery, New York, NY
2004
Tracy Williams Gallery, New York, NY
Crossing Currents, The Synergy of Jean-Michel Basquiat and Ouattara Watts, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH
Maggazino d’Arte Moderna
Marella Arte Contemporanea, Milan
2002
Leo Koenig, New York, NY
1999
Magazzino d’Arte Moderna, Rome
1998
Baldwin Gallery, Aspen
1996
The Kemper Museum, Kansas City
1995
Gagosian Gallery, NY
1994
University Art Museum, Berkley
1993
Galerie Boulakia, Paris
1992
Vrej Baghoomian Gallery, New York
1990
Galerie Boulakia, Paris
Akira Ikeda Gallery, Nagoya, Japan
Vrej Baghoomain, New York
1989
Marilyn Butler Gallery, Los Angeles
1986
Centre Culturel de la Rochelle, La Rochelle, France
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2018
Jazz & LoveCentre de la Vieille CharitéMarseilleFrance
The Black Sphinx IIPrimo Marella Gallery MilanMilanItaly
La Sfinge Nera II – Dal Marocco Al MadagascarPrimo Marella Gallery, MilanMilanItaly
2017
The Black Sphinx From Morocco To MadagascarPrimo Marella Gallery MilanMilanItaly
The White HunterFM Centro per l’Arte ContemporaneaMilanItaly
Il Cacciatore Bianco / The White HunterFM Centro per l’Arte
Contemporanea Milan Italy
2012
Peekskill Project V: Virtual ValleyHudson Valley Center for Contemporary Art (HVCCA)Peekskill, NYUSA
2011
Outtara Watts and Katy SchimertBertrand Delacroix GalleryNew York City, NYUSA
An Instance Of VibrationAnonymous GalleryNew York City, NYUSA
2010
“SPHÉRES 2010” – Galleria Continua. Le Moulin, Boissy-le Châtel
“Why Were You Born?”. Charest-Weinberg Gallery, Miami
2009
The Armory Show NYC. Magazzino d’Arte Moderna
2007
Feria de Arte SWAB, Barcelona, Spain – Stand Galería Leyendecker
Casa Africa, Las Palmas, Canary Islands, Spain (forthcoming)
2006
Intersections: Shifting Identity in Contemporary Art, John Michael Kohler
Arts Center, Sheboygan, WI
Realm of the Spirit, Mike Weiss Gallery, New York, NY
Body of Evidence, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institute,
Washington, DC
2003
New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York
2002
Documenta 11, Kassel, Germany
Whitney Museum Biennale, New York
The Short Century: Independence and Liberation Movements in Africa 1945-1994” P.S. 1 Contemporary Art Center, Long Island City
2001
Gorney Bravin Lee, New York
1997
Fukui Fine Arts Museum, Fukui, Japan
Chiba Museum of Art, Chiba, Japan
1994
“Group Exhibtion,” Vrej Baghoomian Gallery, New York
“Un Altre Pais” Centro Atlantico de Arte Moderno, Las Palmas Fundacion
“La Caixa,” Palma de Mallorca, La Virreina Expositions, Barcelona.
1993
“Venice Bienale”
1992
Other Drums: Visionary Works,” Calvin Morris Gallery, New York
“Haessle, Ouattara, Ray Smith,” Navara Gallery, New York
1991
“Syncretism: The Art of the xx Century,” The Alternative Museum, New York
“Social Sculpture,” Vrej Baghoomian Gallery, New York
“African Explores: New and Renewed Forms in the 20th Century Art”
“The New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York, traveled to University Art Museum, Berkley; Dallas; St. Louis Art Museum; Mint Museum of Art,
Charlotte; The Carnagie Museum of Art; Pittsburgh; The Corcoran
Museum of Art, Washington D.C., The Center of Fine Arts, Miami; Ludwig
Forum, Aachen; Antoni Tapies Fondacion, Barcelona,
Espace Lyonnais d’Art Contemporain, Lyons; Tate Gallery, Liverpool
1990
“It Must Give Pleasure” Erotic Perceptions” Vrej Baghoomian Gallery, New York
“Images of Death in Contemporary Art,” Patrick and Beatrice Haggerty
Museum of Art, Milwaukee
1988
“Summer Exhibition,” Vrej Baghoomian Gallery, New York
1986
Galerie Georges Lavrov, Paris
1985
Musee National des Arts Africans et Oceaniens, Paris