Christopher Watts

Artist statement

I decided to include this photo of my son Zenith and I because he has been instrumental to the foundation of this idea. In April of 2025, we had just come back from traveling & prior to that moment, I was getting tired of painting. And as I was expressing this thought in my sketchbook, beside me my son was drawing on a strip of canvas. After he was done he crumpled up the canvas , threw it on the floor beside me and immediately I received the idea: double sided paintings woven with copper wire. This means the pieces can be shaped by the audience, or follow the curve of a wall, wrap around doorways, and even stand alone as sculpture. The double sided element symbolizes how we don’t always see the whole at once; like ourselves, we reveal aspects we want others to see, over time. My vision with this body of work and concept is to challenge the passive ways we view + interact with art, and in the process of discovery; challenge how we view ourselves. Ultimately, I want the audience to inquire and intuit the unfolding conversation between what’s in front of us so we may awaken to a deeper sensitivity of presence.