JOAN WATTS | ZAZEN MAY 31 – JUNE 29, 2024 | RECEPTION FOR THE ARTIST: FRIDAY, MAY 31, 5 – 7 P.M

These colors reach into you. Pierce the sternum, fill the solar plexus, root in the gut. Jewel-toned maroon, shadowed
forest green, cool wet slate, warm turned earth, heart-of-iris purple, deepest navy sky: these rich and saturated colors
anchor and ground the bottom halves of a series of square-format paintings. Rising from these fertile beds of redolent
color blooms a collection of pale contrasting tones: petal yellow, sage green, fog, and topaz, palest aquamarine.
The series of paintings by Joan Watts, Zazen, included in this eponymous exhibition was featured in an exhibition in
Wiesbaden, Germany at Galerie Ulrike Buschlinger in the late 1990’s and has never before been shown in the United
States.
These pieces, as the title suggests, focus particularly on the primary, essential practice of Buddhism: zazen, or sitting
meditation. These pieces move the viewer from macrocosm to microcosm, from outward to inward, from distance to
closeness. In keeping with the essential paradoxes at the heart of Buddhist practice, Watt’s work balances the qualities
of precision and structure with a flowing and intuitive expression.
Take time to breathe with each piece in Zazen. Allow them to guide you.
–— Michaela Kahn, Ph.D