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Jordan Lucien Watson AKA “Watts”

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In the Studio with Jordan Watson

Jordan Watson’s paintings begin with a solid ground of colour laid across unprimed canvas. From this field he builds the composition in oil and pastel, with the weave of the material adding texture and depth. His scenes and figures emerge from the saturated picture plane, with expressive mark and gesture, replete with a sense of movement and rhythm.

Often working on the floor of his New York studio, surrounded by buckets of paint, Watson approaches the canvas from all sides. Painting horizontally allows him to remain spontaneous and direct, applying oil and pastel into the wet surface. Drips, scuffs and reworkings remain visible in the finished piece, a record of the work’s making.

Watson draws on modernism, surrealism and the graffiti vernacular of the 1980s and 1990s - a dialogue with Kerry James Marshall and Peter Doig, infused throughout by the speculative registers of Afrofuturism. There is also an autobiographical dimension, drawing upon memory and family history from his formative youth in south side Jamaica, Queens.

An entirely self-taught painter, Watson came to the easel after building Love Watts, a platform that places emerging artists before an audience of millions.

Image 4:

Jordan Watson (New York b. 1979)
Front line in Lisbon, 2024
Oil on canvas
152.4 x 152.4 cm (60 x 60 in.)

#InTheStudio #JordanWatson #LoveWatts #Afrofuturism #ContemporaryPainting taken in New York City by @watts

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3 months ago

Starting 5’s day off, 2024
Oil on canvas
43 × 70 in | 109.2 × 177.8 cm by @watts

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5 months ago

Ice, ice baby
2024

Oil on canvas
152.4 x 152.4 cm (60 x 60 in.) by @watts

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5 months ago

Locked in 👨🏾‍🎨 last couple of days to check out my solo show “Sound Of Gold” with @robilantvoenagallery in Milan by @watts

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8 months ago

My solo show “Sound of Gold” is up @robilantvoenagallery in Milan until February 27th.
the paintings are about winter—skating, skiing, being at home. about feeling good and confident. that’s it.
come check it out if you’re in Milan.
@milanocortina2026 @artsy

Featured artwork:
Claude glides, Gemini rides, 2025

#RobilantVoena #Watts #MilanoCortina2026 by @watts

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8 months ago

“Sound of Gold “
My new exhibition with @robilantvoenagallery just opened this Monday in Milan. New paintings, new world. This one is also an official Milan-Cortina 2026 Cultural Olympiad event, so technically I’m an artist olympian now 😂
The show is all about winter rituals. Skiing, hockey, skating, rest. Reimagining who gets to be in those spaces. Anonymous figures living in color, moving through landscapes that feel like dreams but hit like real life.
Pictured: Alone, 2024. Oil on canvas, 188 x 164 cm (74 x 64 5/8 in.)
If you’re in Milan for the Olympics or just passing through, come see it. Via della Spiga 1, open through February 28th.
@watts @love.watts @robilantvoenagallery @milanocortina2026
#RobilantVoena #JordanWatson #SoundOfGold #MilanoCortina2026 #WinterOlympics CulturalOlympiad by @watts

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8 months ago

thanks @louisvuitton 😎 just in time for @artmiamifairs by @watts

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a year ago

Last-minute yacht run with @ritzcarltonyachtcollection . Linked with some new faces, caught up with some old ones. Solid weekend. special thanks to my brother @brendanfallis , new levels unlocked 🚢 by @watts

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a year ago

Grateful to be part of something so timeless—thank you @robilantvoenagallery for including my painting “Side eye Sadie” in this beautiful conversation of artists at MiArt 2025.
To be shown in Milan, among such powerful voices, is an honor I don’t take lightly.
If you’re in the city, Stand B114 @miartmilano

“Side eye Sadie”
2023
oil on canvas
80” x 80” (203.2 cm X 203.2 cm)

#RobilantVoena #Miart25 #MilanArtWeek #MilanDesignWeek #MilanArt

@robilantvoenagallery
@miartmilano
@michelangelo_pistoletto
@julianschnabelstudio
@sergioroger
@santocesart
@watts @love.watts
@gstab
@minjung_kim_art
@prattazzi
@philippepastor.studio
Miart 2025
Stand B114 by @watts

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2 years ago

What was discussed?? 🥸 Happy B Day to my Day 1, love you bro @theophilusbebey by @watts

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2 years ago

A dream realized—“Easier to Breathe” is now open at @robilantvoenagallery in St. Moritz. Each piece carries a weight, a breath, a moment held still. If you’re in town, step inside and spend some time with it. The show runs until March 6th.

Not like the rest, 2023
Oil on canvas
261.4 x 207.8 cm (1027/8 x 813/4 in.)

Proof of stake
Oil on canvas
203.2 x 203.2 cm (80 x 80 in.) by @watts

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2 years ago

The train hums, the air is crisp, and ahead lies a gallery filled with pieces of your soul. Every brushstroke, every late night, every risk—it all led here. taken in Sankt Moritz by @watts

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2 years ago