One doesn’t need to be a fortune-teller to safely predict the following: the further we proceed into the flickering digital lights of our pixilated 21st Century, the more important paintings will eventually become in all our lives. In fact, we must reconsider what might be called the magic of the painted surface: the alluring domain of handmade images embodied on physical supports. This is alchemy in action, captured in the fleeting emotions of paint, and shared in fugitive glances toward both nature itself and our own interior spaces. Thus we can best think of paintings as psychic postcards sent across acres of time. We have all heard it said that a picture is worth a thousand words, and also that every picture tells a story. This is essentially true, and every Janna Watson picture tells a story too, even though that story is not necessarily a linear narrative. Nonetheless, the organic spiritual nature of our shared dreams is clearly visible here. In today’s digitally saturated realm of instantaneous images, some not even made by human beings at all, nothing will be more uniquely prized than original works of visual art executed in oil and mixed media.
Subsequent to graduating with honours from the Ontario College of Art and Design two decades ago, and with over forty exhibitions in her aesthetic archive, Watson is a Toronto-based mid-career artist whose ample success and recognition, both critically (an abundance of high profile coverage by top art media, writers and curators) and commercially (an impressive array of private and corporate collectors amidst an ongoing curve of public exposure) has achieved the acclamation level one might associate more with a senior artist with many years behind their professional practice. In an age of ever accelerating technological innovations, there’s something reassuring, maybe even fetishistic, about such a devotion to the art of physical painting on tangible surfaces we can actually touch. This physical empathy is even more evident in an avid adherence to the classical modernist realm of biomorphic abstraction, and in her devotion to the deeply human element of perceptual mindfulness.
In fact, paradoxically the technologies for the accurate mimetic rendering of reality have quickly given rise to an even more heightened and highly spiritual kind of abstraction, and to dramatically advanced forms of seeing such as Watson’s. Her images often share a certain aesthetic affinity with some of the modernist works of the early to mid-20th Century, and with a formal movement focused on primal energies. Each Watson painting is an act of active witnessing: one which requests us to quiet our busy minds long enough to listen with our eyes to the gentle whispers it offers as a gift to our overworked retinas. Her glacial slowness and pristine void spaces present a polychrome field of vision, one that reminds us of certain musical compositions. She reminds us all that in the end, all fine paintings are a special sort of frozen music, a unique feat accomplished by her ongoing respect for what has been called the original aura of one of a kind artifacts.
Watson has exhibited extensively across Canada and internationally in a multitude solo exhibitions. Her work has appeared in notable public collections including those of TD Bank, CIBC, Telus, the Ritz-Carlton, ONi ONE, the Soho Metropolitan Hotel, and Saks Fifth Avenue. In 2013, she was commissioned to create an impressive, 11 x 32 ft painting for the lobby of AURA, Canada’s tallest residential building. Watson’s paintings also circulate regularly at international art fairs, including Art Toronto, Art Miami, Hamptons Fine Art, Art Taipei, San Francisco and in Seattle, where they were featured by Artsy in its list of “10 Works to Collect at the Seattle Art Fair.” Watson’s pieces have been covered by publications such as The Toronto Star, The Globe and Mail, NOW Magazine, and House & Home. Her upcoming exhibitions continue her active involvement in the contemporary art field at a high profile level, with shows planned for Laura Rathe Fine Arts, Dallas & Houston; Newzones Gallery at the San Francisco Art Fair; and a Fall Solo Exhibition at Sugarlift Gallery in New York’s renowned Chelsea neighbourhood. Watson also manages Studio Watson, a related enterprise dedicated to dramatically redefining our interiors with hand-tufted floor pieces inspired by the artist’s abstract compositions. She lives and works in Toronto, and is represented by Bau-Xi Gallery in both Toronto and Vancouver.
An attached essay by Vancouver-based art critic Donald Brackett explores her work in more detail and depth: https://donaldbrackett.substack.com/p/in-passing
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IN PASSING: THE ENIGMATIC PAINTINGS OF JANNA WATSON
BY DONALD BRACKETT
Donald Brackett is a Vancouver-based art critic and curator. A former Executive Director of both the Professional Art Dealers Association of Canada and the Ontario Association of Art Galleries His most recent book was on the life and work of conceptual artist Yoko Ono.
EDUCATION
BFA Painting & Drawing (Honours)
Ontario College of Art and Design
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2024 Poems Bau-Xi Gallery / Vancouver
2023 The Heat of Blue Kenise Barnes Fine Art / Connecticut
2023 I Didn’t Eat The Garnish Bau-Xi Gallery / Toronto
2023 Skywriting Laura Rathe Fine Art / Dallas
2023 Skywriting Bau-Xi Gallery / Vancouver
2022 Janna Watson Northbridge Piazza / Perth
2022 The Heat of Blue Newzones / Calgary
2022 Night Water Bau-Xi Gallery / Toronto
2022 Float Laura Rathe Fine Art / Houston
2022 Blue Moon, Blue Ocean Bau-Xi Gallery / Vancouver
2021 Seven Perfect Syllables Kenise Barnes Fine Art / Connecticut
2021 Fruit For The Loom Bau-Xi Gallery / Toronto
2021 Finding Joy Bau-Xi Gallery / Vancouver
2020 Falling Forward Bau-Xi Gallery / Toronto
2020 Dragging A Thought Over Bau-Xi Gallery / Vancouver
2019 Seven Perfect Syllables Foster White Gallery / Seattle
2019 In the Fog Everything I See Is Mine Bau-Xi Gallery / Toronto
2019 Strange Legacy Kenise Barnes Fine Art / New York
2019 Suspended In Time Bau-Xi Gallery / Vancouver
2018 Moody As Light Foster White Gallery / Seattle
2018 Patterns Of Up and Down Bau-Xi Gallery / Toronto
2018 Light Is Heavy Bau-Xi Gallery / Vancouver
2017 Heavy with Dreams Foster White Gallery / Seattle
2017 Still Life Bau-Xi Gallery / Toronto
2017 Something In The Air Bau-Xi Gallery / Vancouver
2016 Talking To Orchids Foster White Gallery / Seattle
2016 The Body Moves Bau-Xi Gallery / Toronto
2016 There Is No Dimmer Bau-Xi Gallery / Vancouver
2015 Out Of Line Bau-Xi Gallery / Toronto
2014 Silent Ocean Bau-Xi Gallery / Toronto
2014 New Paintings Couture Galleri / Stockholm
2013 A Line With A Mind Of Its Own Bau-Xi Gallery / Vancouver
2013 Levitation Bau-Xi Gallery / Toronto
2013 Inside: I Burst to Flames Couture Galleri / Stockholm
2012 Magic Is Also Involved Bau-Xi Gallery / Vancouver
2012 When Poets Hallucinate Bau-Xi Gallery / Toronto
2012 Come Up To My Room Gladstone Hotel / Toronto
2011 Rooms With No Floors Bau-Xi Gallery / Vancouver
2011 Put a Straight Jacket On A Fire Gallery 1313 / Toronto
2010 Light Is Not Heavy Bau-Xi Gallery / Toronto
2010 Overexcited Sensitivity Bau-Xi Gallery / Vancouver
2009 The Objects Have Lost Their Colour Median Contemporary / Toronto
2008 Wet Tambourine Fute Design / Toronto
2007 Nervous Laughter Soho Gallery / Toronto
2006 Janna Watson River Salon / Toronto
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2024 Primavera - Carly Allen Martin & Janna Watson Laura Rathe Fine Art / Dallas
2024 Palm Beach Modern + Contemporary Laura Rathe Fine Art / West Palm Beach
2024 Eleven: 11th Anniversary Group Exhibition Laura Rathe Fine Art / Dallas
2023 Beyond the Beyond - McKay Otto & Janna Watson Laura Rathe Fine Art / Houston
2023 Art Taipei Bluerider Art / Taipei
2023 Art Toronto Bau-Xi Gallery / Toronto
2023 DnA SHENZEN Design & Art Fair Bluerider Art / Shanghai
2023 Method VI Bau-Xi Gallery / Toronto
2022 Art Taipei Bluerider Art / Taipei
2022 Art Toronto Bau-Xi Gallery / Toronto
2022 Autumn Bluerider Art / Taipei
2022 Method V Bau-Xi Gallery / Toronto
2022 Midnight Bloom Laura Rathe Fine Art / Dallas
2022 On Cloud 9 Laura Rathe Fine Art / Dallas
2021 Imagine Laura Rathe Fine Art / River Oaks
2021 Art Toronto Bau-Xi Gallery / Toronto
2021 Method IV Bau-Xi Gallery / Toronto
2021 OMG Art Fair Kenise Barnes Fine Art / New York
2021 Multimedia Trio Exhibition Laura Rathe Fine Art / Houston
2021 Art Cares Bau-Xi Gallery / Vancouver
2021 Winter Showcase Kenise Barnes Fine Art / Connecticut
2020 Iris Blue Each Spring Kenise Barnes Fine Art / Connecticut
2020 Intersect Aspen K Contemporary / Denver
2020 Color Theory (Colorado Governor’s Mansion) K Contemporary / Denver
2020 Method III Bau-Xi Gallery / Toronto
2020 LA Art Show K Contemporary / Los Angeles
2019 Holiday Bau-Xi Gallery / Vancouver
2019 Method II Bau-Xi Gallery / Toronto
2019 Mixed Media Bau-Xi Gallery / Toronto
2019 Art Toronto Bau-Xi Gallery / Toronto
2019 Mixed Media Bau-Xi Gallery / Toronto
2019 FreshFaces Newzones Gallery of Contemporary Art / Calgary
2018 Holiday Bau-Xi Gallery / Vancouver
2018 A Deeper Shade Of Blue Bau-Xi Gallery / Vancouver
2018 Art Toronto Bau-Xi Gallery / Toronto
2018 Method Bau-Xi Gallery / Toronto
2018 Revivify Kenise Barnes Fine Art / New York
2017 Holiday Bau-Xi Gallery / Vancouver
2017 CONTEXT Miami Bau-Xi Gallery / Toronto
2017 Art Toronto Bau-Xi Gallery / Toronto
2017 Seattle Art Fair Foster White Gallery / Seattle
2017 Summer Bau-Xi Gallery / Toronto
2017 Focus / New York
2016 CONTEXT Miami Bau-Xi Gallery / Miami
2016 Through Forest, Sea, and Sky Bau-Xi Gallery / Vancouver
2016 Art Toronto Bau-Xi Gallery / Toronto
2015 CONTEXT Miami Bau-Xi Gallery / Miami
2015 Art Toronto Bau-Xi Gallery / Toronto
2015 Seattle Art Fair Foster White Gallery / Seattle
2014 Art Toronto Bau-Xi Gallery / Toronto
2013 Art Toronto Bau-Xi Gallery / Toronto
2012 Miami Scope Bau-Xi Gallery / Miami
2011 The Memory Project Okanagan Heritage Museum / Kelowna
2009 Queen West Art Crawl Trinity Bellwoods / Toronto
2009 Art Expo Toronto Convention Center / Toronto
2009 Spring Exhibition Hamilton Art Gallery / Hamilton
2008 Winter Exhibition Hamilton Art Gallery / Hamilton
2008 Queen West Art Crawl Trinity Bellwoods / Toronto
2008 Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition Nathan Phillips Square / Toronto
2008 Our Space is Vast – Transit Space / Toronto
2007 Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition Nathan Phillip Square / Toronto
2007 Who Dunnit OCAD / Toronto
2006 Art Fest The Huron / Collingwood
COLLECTIONS
Questrade Toronto
CIBC Toronto
InterContinental Hotel Centre Toronto
Regent Seven Seas Grandeur
Oceania Vista
The Well Toronto
200 Amsterdam NYC New York
The Set NYC New York
Manulife Toronto
InterContinental Buckhead Atlanta
River Green Vancouver
Microsoft Toronto
Saks Fifth Avenue Toronto
Nordstrom Canada & US
Hudson’s Bay Company New York
Rosa Properties Vancouver
AURA Condominium Toronto
Cenovus Energy Inc. Calgary
Oni One Toronto
CIBC Toronto
GZ International Toronto
Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada Toronto
Relative Space Toronto
The Ritz Carlton Toronto
Soho Metropolitan Hotel Toronto
TD Bank Financial Group Toronto
TELUS Toronto
BIBLIOGRAPHY
“In Passing: The Enigmatic Paintings of Janna Watson”, Donald Brackett, Critics At Large, 2024
“Allie X Dives Into Janna Watson's Toronto Show 'Fruit of the Loom'”, Riley Runnells, Paper Magazine, 2021
“Art Bound Podcast, Ep. 13: Pushing the Boundaries of Color”, Artists Network, 2021
“Janna Watson on the Place and Importance of Female Inuit Artists”, Jacob M., Influencive, 2021
“More for the floor: Meet the Toronto artisans behind Twofold reversible carpets”, Laura Beeston, The Globe And Mail, 2015
AS SEEN IN
Being Erica, 2009-2011
The Listener, 2011
The Firm, 2011
The Listener, 2011
Frenemies, 2011
Good Witch One Production, 2014
Conviction, Warm Cases, 2016
Designated Survivor, 2017-2018
Grand Army (Netflix), 2019
In the Dark, 2021
Maid, 2021
Wedding Season, 2022
Law and Order Toronto: Criminal Intent, 2023