• Old Jail Art Center (map)
  • 201 South 2nd Street
  • Albany, TX, 76430
  • United States

Curated by Patrick Kelly. 

Ronald Watson utilizes strict systems of order, artistic intuition, and the viewers’ perception to construct complex and intriguing sculptures with acute attention to detail and craftsmanship.  Watson’s work conveys a sense of stability in a world that is perceived to be in a state of chaos. 

The laws of nature, mathematics, and geometry are fundamental to Watson’s works and are utilized during the creative process. Paper, solid wood, and plywood are methodically cut and glued by hand to form the intricate structures. Pigmentation is applied not as surface decoration but to enhance or alter aspects of perception. Finally, similar shapes are repeated to form unified works representing a molecular level of nature.

Watson is a native of Nebraska and earned his BFA and MFA from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. He is a recipient of an Artist Fellowship from the National Endowment of Arts and two grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities as well as other distinguished awards. He has been represented in 18 solo and more than 100 group exhibitions throughout the US. Watson taught in the art department at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth for 30 years and also served as the first Director of TCU’s School of Art. He has an extensive record of teaching, lecturing, consulting, and arts administration in Texas and throughout the world. Watson retired from TCU in 2012 to work full time in his studio.

 

[Ronald Watson, Departure, 2014, painted plywood, 55.75 x 55.25 x 4. Courtesy of the artist.]


Click above Image for artist interview [via Ft. Worth Community Arts Center]


Ronald Watson: Order Among Chaos is sponsored in part by Jon Rex and Ann Jones.