Born 1981, Roseburg OR
Lives and Works in New York City
Lives and Works in New York City
EDUCATION
2012 MFA, Columbia University School of the Arts, New York, NY
2004 BA Honors, Studio Art and Science and Technology Studies, Williams College, Williamstown, MA
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2024 Esther, with Laurel Gitlen, New York
2023 Hollow Leg, Laurel Gitlen, New York
2019 Mizaru, CACBM Gallery, Paris, France
2016 Surplus to Requirements, Federico Vavassori Gallery, Milan, Italy
2016 Imagine, Brand New Gallery, Milan, Italy
2015 Kyiv Biennial: School of Kyiv, curated by Hedwig Saxenhuber and George Schöllhammer, Kiev, Ukraine
2015 Softening Boxes, Joe Sheftel Gallery, New York, NY
2015 Shit and Die, curated by Maurizio Cattelan, Torino One, Turin, Italy
2014 Bad Conscience, curated by John Miller, Metro Pictures, New York, NY
2013 Present Future, curated by Alex Gartenfeld, Artissima Art Fair, Turin, Italy
2013 Commission | Barter | For Sale, Joe Sheftel Gallery, New York, NY
2013 The Roving Eye: Aura and the Contemporary Portrait, Oakland University Art Gallery, Rochester, MI
2012 Columbia University MFA Thesis Exhibition, curated by Fionn Meade, Fisher Landau Center for Art, Queens, NY
2010 American Demonic, curated by Eve Biddle, Davidson Contemporary, New York, NY
2009 Without, Two-Person Show with Meleko Mokgosi, The Work Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
2008 Four Continents, curated by Meleko Mokgosi, Thapong Arts Center, Botswana
SELECTED PRESS
2016 Can Abstract Painting Be Political? Curator Alex Gartenfeld on the Secret Power Relations Embedded in Contemporary Canvases, by Loney Abrams, Artspace, October
2016 Matthew Watson “Surplus to Requirements” at Federico Vavassori, Milan, Mousse Magazine Online, November
2015 Regarding Matthew Watson, by Sebastian Black, Art in America, February, p.82
2014 The Costliness of Our Attachments, by Piper Marshall, Text Zur Kunst, May, Issue 94, p. 237
2014 Bad Conscience, by Jennifer Piejko, Art Agenda, February 14
2013 Matthew Watson’s Personal Exchanges, by Austin Considine, Art in America, February
2013 Emerging: Matthew Watson, by Alanna Martinez, Blouin ArtInfo, January
2009 Without at Work Gallery in ArtCat Online, by Anjuli Lebowitz, April 3
PROFESSORSHIPS AND ACADEMIC LECTURES
2024 Lecturer and Critic, Yale University School of Art, Painting and Printmaking
2017 Visiting Artist Lecture: NYU Gallatin School of Independent Study, Figure Painting
2014 Studio Visit and Presentation: The College of New Jersey, Visual Art
2013 Visiting Artist Lecture: School of Visual Arts, Visual Literacy
2012 Lecturer, Columbia University School of the Arts, Painting
2012 Visiting Artist Lecture and Studio Visits: Williams College, Williamstown, MA
2012 Symposium titled "Making and Assessing Portraits" at the Oakley Center for the Humanities, Williamstown, MA
2011 Visiting Artist Lecture Series Coordinator, Columbia University School of the Arts
AWARDS
2010 Andrew Fisher Fellowship Fund
2004 Frederick M. Peyser Prize in Painting
2012 MFA, Columbia University School of the Arts, New York, NY
2004 BA Honors, Studio Art and Science and Technology Studies, Williams College, Williamstown, MA
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2024 Esther, with Laurel Gitlen, New York
2023 Hollow Leg, Laurel Gitlen, New York
2019 Mizaru, CACBM Gallery, Paris, France
2016 Surplus to Requirements, Federico Vavassori Gallery, Milan, Italy
2016 Imagine, Brand New Gallery, Milan, Italy
2015 Kyiv Biennial: School of Kyiv, curated by Hedwig Saxenhuber and George Schöllhammer, Kiev, Ukraine
2015 Softening Boxes, Joe Sheftel Gallery, New York, NY
2015 Shit and Die, curated by Maurizio Cattelan, Torino One, Turin, Italy
2014 Bad Conscience, curated by John Miller, Metro Pictures, New York, NY
2013 Present Future, curated by Alex Gartenfeld, Artissima Art Fair, Turin, Italy
2013 Commission | Barter | For Sale, Joe Sheftel Gallery, New York, NY
2013 The Roving Eye: Aura and the Contemporary Portrait, Oakland University Art Gallery, Rochester, MI
2012 Columbia University MFA Thesis Exhibition, curated by Fionn Meade, Fisher Landau Center for Art, Queens, NY
2010 American Demonic, curated by Eve Biddle, Davidson Contemporary, New York, NY
2009 Without, Two-Person Show with Meleko Mokgosi, The Work Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
2008 Four Continents, curated by Meleko Mokgosi, Thapong Arts Center, Botswana
SELECTED PRESS
2016 Can Abstract Painting Be Political? Curator Alex Gartenfeld on the Secret Power Relations Embedded in Contemporary Canvases, by Loney Abrams, Artspace, October
2016 Matthew Watson “Surplus to Requirements” at Federico Vavassori, Milan, Mousse Magazine Online, November
2015 Regarding Matthew Watson, by Sebastian Black, Art in America, February, p.82
2014 The Costliness of Our Attachments, by Piper Marshall, Text Zur Kunst, May, Issue 94, p. 237
2014 Bad Conscience, by Jennifer Piejko, Art Agenda, February 14
2013 Matthew Watson’s Personal Exchanges, by Austin Considine, Art in America, February
2013 Emerging: Matthew Watson, by Alanna Martinez, Blouin ArtInfo, January
2009 Without at Work Gallery in ArtCat Online, by Anjuli Lebowitz, April 3
PROFESSORSHIPS AND ACADEMIC LECTURES
2024 Lecturer and Critic, Yale University School of Art, Painting and Printmaking
2017 Visiting Artist Lecture: NYU Gallatin School of Independent Study, Figure Painting
2014 Studio Visit and Presentation: The College of New Jersey, Visual Art
2013 Visiting Artist Lecture: School of Visual Arts, Visual Literacy
2012 Lecturer, Columbia University School of the Arts, Painting
2012 Visiting Artist Lecture and Studio Visits: Williams College, Williamstown, MA
2012 Symposium titled "Making and Assessing Portraits" at the Oakley Center for the Humanities, Williamstown, MA
2011 Visiting Artist Lecture Series Coordinator, Columbia University School of the Arts
AWARDS
2010 Andrew Fisher Fellowship Fund
2004 Frederick M. Peyser Prize in Painting