Chris Watts: Integration

A new series of works, the "ambient paintings," develops this inquiry in three-dimensional form, with Watts's abstractions housed in freestanding frames of Nigerian mahogany. Displayed away from the wall, the colorful transparencies are illuminated by the light entering the gallery, recalling the stained-glass windows of sacred sites, including the Southern Baptist churches of the artist's native North Carolina. Borne of a desire to further his practice beyond the common conventions of paintings and inspired by the impact of sacral architecture, the works reflect the presence of the body in the gallery, offering the viewer a heightened level of spiritual awareness.

Contrasting the guiding forces of the "ambient paintings," a selection of works on view from the series Lapis Lazuli Trials: Chapter 1 act as forums for Watts's personal reflections. Lapis lazuli, a stone often associated with wisdom and enlightenment, produces a pigment steeped in history, known for its many uses from ancient decorative items through Renaissance paintings. Through this choice of material, Watts connects himself to artistic masters and movements of the past, while his use of the material in works he considers meditative drawings quietly upends our notions of the storied pigment.

In the small gallery, a selection of works from Watts's Blahk on Blahk on Blak series will be on view. Beginning in 2017, the series sources imagery from video footage of excessive police violence against Black bodies, but in each instance removes the figure, prompting an inquiry into the role of the body in this footage, the impact of viewing it, and the limitations of its perceived truth in legal settings. Composed of mixed media on sheer polyester screens, the paintings expose their frame and wall behind it. Created with the stipulation that they always be exhibited on a painted black wall, the works in this series, in the artist's words, "create realities that only reveal themselves in blackness." A pivotal point in Watts's practice, the Blahk on Blahk on Blak series marks the removal of the figure in the artist's work and the commencement of his ongoing exploration of the use of physical transparency to create works that hold metaphysical space evident in the works on view in the main gallery.

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