Sydney based Oliver Watts is an intellectual artist who interrogates society, politics and the art world in his bold creations. Watts' recent work on paper explores the themes and currents of Dada, a provocative anti establishment arts movement from the early twentieth century. Watts' paper cut out series, first shown at the Chalk Horse Gallery in Sydney entitled Barres Trial, have proved enormously successful. Part of their great appeal is no doubt because of the combination between the playful 'naive' process with powerful political statements. The works on paper go beyond the traditional realm of illustration and enter a sophisticated adult world of image making.
The artist's work is often satirical and he was a founding member of the Chaser Team as cartoonist and illustrator. Testament to his creative success is the incusion of his illustrations in the collection of the National Museum of Australia, Canberra.
Watts has shown widely throughout Australia and has recently exhibited in Singapore and China. He has been represented in several art prizes including the Mosman Art Prize, the Helen Lempriere Traveling Scholarship, Brett Whitely Scholarship Exhibition, and won the Noel Chettle Prize.
