Amanda Watt

Amanda Watt was born in Northern Ireland in 1960, and graduated from the Belfast College of Art and Design in 1982. Just three years out of University, while living in London, Amanda was discovered by top film director Barry Levinson, who invited her to Malibu to paint from his beach house for six months. From this moment, her art took off, and she spent the next twenty years building a successful career in California, making her way into collections of many key LA directors, producers, galleries, and film stars.

With annual solo shows in LA, San Francisco and New York, Amanda's bright, vibrant landscapes, interior scenes, and her semi-abstract figurative paintings have  became a staple of Californian society. Watt's key collectors include casino mogul Steve Wynn, cultural ambassador Vanessa Branson, former president of Ireland Mary Robinson, and fashion-designer Marla Ginsburg. Her work is held in key global collections including: Allied Irish Bank, Dublin; ARCO Corporation, California, and Nagi Corporation in Tokyo.

In 2006, Amanda was burnt out by the sheer volume of work expected of her by these galleries, and took a step back, exhibiting just occasionally until her return to her native Ireland in 2015. Amanda now lives and works in Dromara, Northern Ireland. 

Artist Statement;

"I am influenced by the pattern-making of Gustav Klimt and the highly stylised figures of Tom Wesselman and Alex Katz, as well as Rainer Fetting's use of bold colour and gestural brushstrokes. Japanese woodblock prints and Gauguin's Tahitian women have also inspired me, while the bright Californian colours of David Hockney and the decisive curves of Matisse are clearly recognisable in my work.

I favour acrylic paint, which allows a fast pace of work with spontaneous gestures. Transparent washes precede bold primary colours to create depth and vibrancy. Multiple motifs, all from memory or imagination, are peppered throughout my work: highly stylised furniture; a picture within a picture; a torso - fragmented parts that on their own don't necessarily make sense, carefully placed to create a balanced whole."

NOTABLE EXHIBITIONS
Annual Solo Shows:
 1995 - 2005 Timothy Yarger Fine Art, Beverly Hills, California
 1993 - 2002 Bowles/Sorokko Galleries, New York & San Francisco
 1989 - 1993 Tower Gallery, California

Additional Solo Shows:
 2004 Marla Ginsburg Productions, private show, Los Angeles
 2003 Area Art Gallery, Santa Rosa, California
 1999 Lee Hamilton Gallery, Santa Monica, Los Angeles
 1998 John Dupree Gallery, Washington DC
 1993 Ratner Gallery, Chicago, Illinois
 1992 Gallery M, Fresno, California
 1992 Buschlen Mowatt Gallery, Vancouver, Canada

Key Group Exhibitions:
 2022 Chelsea Arts Club, London, 'Curated Painting Group Show'
 2021 Society of Women Artists, London, 'SWA Annual Exhibition'
 2021 Rtistiq (online), 'Purple and Wine'
 2020 Society of Women Artists, London, 'SWA Annual Exhibition'
 2020 BPP Art Exhibition (online), 'Beckenham Place Park Flower Show'
 2020 Envision Arts (online), 'Aqua'
 2020 Singulart (online), 'Life Through the Window'
 2020 AllBright Club, London, 'Art on a Postcard'
 2019 Elizabeth James Gallery, London, 'Inspired by Picasso'
 2019 Society of Women Artists, London, 'SWA Annual Exhibition'
 2019 Clarendon Fine Art, Mayfair, London, 'Colour & Abstraction'
 2018 Clarendon Fine Art, Mayfair, London, 'Summer Exhibition'
 2018 Clarendon Fine Art, Mayfair, London, 'What is the Beautiful?'
 2017 Clarendon Fine Art, Mayfair, London, 'Fine Art & Fine Wine'
 2017 Pop up group show, South Kensington, London, 'Art in Full Bloom'
 2015 Pop up group show, Tampa, Florida
 2006 Gallery Art, Miami, Florida
 2004 Timothy Yarger Gallery, Beverly Hills, 'Women in Art'
 2001 Royal Academy, London, 'Summer Exhibition'
 2000 Virtual Gallery, Los Gatos, California
 1998 Lee Hamilton Gallery, Santa Monica, Los Angeles
 1995 Brussels Art Fair, Belgium
 1995 Art Miami International
 1994 Singapore Art Fair
 1994 Cologne Art Fair, Germany
 1993 Cologne Art Fair, Germany

PUBLICATIONS, CATALOGUES AND ARTICLES
2020 Integrity Magazine, 'Interview: Amanda Watt' (Issue 12)
2019 New York Waste Magazine, 'All for the love of Art: Amanda Watt'
2017 The Irish World Newspaper, 'Gallery Shows Art is in Full Bloom: Fusionist Amanda Watt Leads new pop-up exhibition'
2017 Murze Magazine, 'Vegetation'
1995 Exhibition Catalogue, 'Amanda Watt: Observations and Fantasies', Bowles/Sorokko/Yarger Fine Art, (California, New York, San Francisco)

KEY AWARDS
1982 Artist of Promise, Belfast College of Art

KEY GLOBAL COLLECTIONS
• Allied Irish Bank, Dublin, Ireland
• ARCO Corporation, Los Angeles, California
• Nagi Corporation, Tokyo
• Marla Ginsburg (Now Marla Wynne), LA Television Producer and Fashion Designer
• Barry Levinson, Hollywood Film Director
• Steve Wynn, Casino Mogul and key Art Collector
• Owen Wilson, Hollywood Actor
• Vanessa Branson, founder of Marrakech Biennale and Global Culture Ambassador
• Mary Robinson, first female President of Ireland
• Sarah Miles, British Actress