Characterised by the way that she paints outdoors, Amanda Watson’s work connects with a lineage to the process of painting, environmental and performative art while working in close collaboration with the land. Her paintings embody the vitality of the gestural mark and complexities of the environments they were made in. Her work is held in the Waikato Bequests Collection, Waikato Museum Te Whare O Taonga; The Wallace Art Collection; The University of Waikato Art Collection and private collections in Aotearoa New Zealand and further afield. There are published writings about her work in Scopes Art & Design Journal, The Journal of Visual Art Practice, and reviews on EyeContact, and Fleshbag. Amanda has presented papers and convened panels at the AAANZ [Art Association of Australia and New Zealand] conferences, Waikato Institute of Technology Research Symposiums in 2021, 2022 and 2023, and was the Artist in Residence at the Dunedin School of Art in 2021. She is an Associate Editor for the Journal of Visual Art Practice and is currently editing a Special Edition which focuses on visual art contributors with connection to the South Pacific [due out 2025].
Alongside her practice-led painting research she teaches fine art part-time at the Waikato Institute of Technology, contributes to academic research in practice-led art, and has a working studio in her local community. She has curated exhibitions, and held a range of project management, strategic development and community roles in the arts. She studied at Elam School of Fine Art, Auckland University; Massey University; Waikato Institute of Technology; Slade School of Fine Art Summer School, University College London [BFA; MA Painting; PGDMuseumSt]. Currently, she is a Research Associate with the Waikato Institute of Technology Te Pūkenga, and an Associate Editor for the Journal of Visual Art Practice.
Upcoming
Guest Speaker, PLaCE International symposium ‘Distinctive Investigations of Place’, 8th March 2024 GMT
Artist in Residence, St Peter’s & St Paul’s Edgefield, Norfolk, UK, September 2024
Presentation, ITIA, St Andrews University, Scotland. 4th October 2024
Studio visits, DJCAD, University of Dundee, Scotland. 8th October 2024
Editor, Special Edition of the Journal of Visual Art Practice 2024/2025
Exhibitions
2024
The Vitality of Things. Laree Payne Gallery, Kirikiriroa. May 2024
2023
In and of the Earth - Ramp Gallery, September 2023 [Artist publication book launch & exhibition]; In & of the Earth, Might Could Project Space, Ngāmotu, 2023 [exhibition]; Pukekura - March, June 2023 [Residency]; St Peter’s & St Paul’s, Edgefield, Norfolk, UK, October 2023 [Residency]; Finalist, National Contemporary Art Award Exhibition 2023; Finalist, Art & Ecology Award 2023,
2022
Local Geographies - Ramp Gallery. September 2022 [Exhibition]; Local Geographies - Ramp Gallery, 2022 [Exhibition]; Pukekura - March, September 2022 [Residency]; Finalist, Art & Ecology Award 2022
2021
The Fred Staub Artist in Residence - Dunedin School of Art, August & September 2021 [Residency];Finalist, Art & Ecology Award 2021; Finalist New Zealand Painting & Printmaking Award, 2021; Finalist, Molly Morpeth Canaday Award 2021;
2020
Painting Encounters With The Land - Ramp Gallery, 11-28 February 2020https://www.rampgallery.co.nz/exhibitions/painting-encounters-with-the-land/ [Exhibition]; Finalist, Aesthetica Art Prize, 2020
2019
Finalist New Zealand Painting & Printmaking Award 2019
2018
Recent work - Slade School of Fine Art, University College, London, August 2018 [Group exhibition]; Finalist, Art & Ecology Award 2018
2017
Competitive Advantage - Calder & Lawson Gallery, 16 Oct – 8 Dec 2017 https://www.waikato.ac.nz/academy/gallery/competitive-advantage [Group exhibition]; Nebula, Ramp Gallery, 11-25 October 2017 http://www.rampgallery.co.nz/exhibitions/nebula/ [Group exhibition]; Finalist, Art & Ecology Award 2027
2016
Cataloguing Blue: Works from the University of Waikato Art Collection, Calder & Lawson Gallery, February-April 2017 http://www.waikato.ac.nz/academy/gallery/cataloguing-blue [Group exhibition]; Fleshbag – Skinroom, 18 November – 3 December 2016 [Group exhibition]
2015
Finalist, New Zealand Painting and Printmaking Award 2015
2010-2000
Vision - Morgan Street Gallery, Dec 2005 [Exhibition]; Amanda Watson - Morgan Street Gallery, November 2003 [Exhibition]; And there was light - Morgan Street Gallery, June 2002 [Exhibition]; Here and Beyond: Recent paintings - Morgan Street Gallery, 2000 [Exhibition]; Group shows, nkb Gallery, Auckland; La Mezz Gallery; Braveheart, ASB Showgrounds; Oriel Washington Gallery, UK; Percy Thomson Gallery, Taranaki; Morgan Street Gallery, Auckland; Studio shows
1995 - 1996
Fourth Year Elam Painters - George Fraser Gallery, 1996 [Group exhibition]; We Are - George Fraser Gallery 1996 [Group exhibition]; Third Year Elam Painters - George Fraser Gallery, 1995 [Group exhibition]
Award Exhibitions
Finalist, National Contemporary Art Award 2023; Finalist, Art & Ecology Award 2023, 2022, 2021, 2018, 2017; Finalist New Zealand Painting & Printmaking Award, 2021, 2019, 2015; Finalist, Molly Morpeth Canaday Award 2021; Finalist, Aesthetica Art Prize, 2020; Finalist, Walker & Hall Art Award 2019, 2018; Merit Award, Hibiscus & Bays Art Award 2018; Finalist, Hibiscus & Bays Art Award 2017; Finalist, Northshore City Art Awards 1995
Public Collections
Waikato Bequests Trust Collection, Waikato Museum Te Whare o Taonga; University of Waikato Art Collection; The Wallace Art Collection
Published Research
Painting with Otepoti Dunedin: Artist in Residence at the Dunedin School of Art 2021 – Written by Amanda Watson in Scope Contemporary Research Topics, Art & Design Issue 23. https://doi.org/10.34074/scop.1023026 [Article]
Painting encounters with environments: experiencing the territory of familiar places – Written by Amanda Watson, Journal of Visual Art Practice, Volume 20, Issue 1&2, 2021 http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/14702029.2021.1925856 [Article]
Books
In and of the Earth [Artist Book], published by Amanda Watson: Aotearoa New Zealand, 2023
Bibliography
Where Do I Come From? What Am I? Where Am I Going? The Problem of Self-Discovery in Art Making as Research Inquiry – Written by Edward Hanfling in Scope Journal Issue 24, 2023
Local Geographies [catalogue] https://rampgallery.co.nz/assets/RAMP-Gallery-Local-Geographies-Catalogue_DIGITAL.pdf
A visual, journal practice: Journal of Visual Art Practice, twenty years on – Written by Jane Birkin, Ed D’Souza & Sunil Manghani, in the Journal of Visual Art Practice, 20:4, 299-315, 2021 DOI: 10.1080/14702029.2021.1995928
En-plein-air with a Difference – Written by Peter Dornauf in EyeContact Magazine [Exhibition review] https://eyecontactmagazine.com/2022/09/en-plein-air-with-a-difference
Encounters with the Land - Ramp Gallery [exhibition catalogue]
A lost and beautiful past – Written by Peter Dornauf in EyeContact, February 2020 [exhibition review] http://eyecontactsite.com/2020/02/a-lost-beautiful-past
From the corner of my eye - Ramp Gallery [exhibition catalgoue]
Encounters with the Land [exhibition catalogue], Ramp Gallery, February 2020 - click here
Hamilton’s Painting and Print Competition – Written by Peter Dornauf in EyeContact, 7 March 2019 [exhibition review], http://eyecontactsite.com/2019/03/painting-and-print-competition
Future Now 2020: 100 Contemporary Artists from the Aesthetica Art Prize [Book], published 2020
Hamilton’s Painting and Print Compeitition – Written by Peter Dornauf in EyeContact, 7 March 2019 [Exhibition review]
Flat Bed Collaboration - Slade School of Fine Art, London, August 2018 [art book]
Nebula - Written by Heather Olesen and Ed Hanfling, Ramp Gallery October 2017 [Essay] http://www.rampgallery.co.nz/assets/Uploads/Nebula-gallery-hand-out-A3.pdf
Fleshbag at Skinroom – Written by Peter Dornauf in #500words, 2 December 2016 [exhibition review] https://hashtag500words.com/2016/12/02/fleshbag-at-skinroom/
Competitive Advantage - Calder & Lawson Gallery, 2017 [exhibition catalogue]; Cataloguing Blue – Written by Lynda Wilson, Calder & Lawson Gallery, 2017 [Essay]
Residencies & Public Presentations
AAANZ Conference, Griffith University, Australia, 6-8 December 2023 [Panel speaker]
Dundee University, Scotland, UK. October 2023 [Paper presentation]
Creative Practice Research Symposium 2023, WINTEC [Paper presentation]
Creative Practice Research Symposium 2023, WINTEC [Publication]
Ramp Festival 2022 – Drawing Workshop with Amanda Watson, WINTEC [Workshop]
AAANZ Impact Conference 2021 - Painting Places and Territories, World Vision and the South Pacific panel [panel speaker]
The Fred Staub Artist in Residence - Dunedin School of Art, August & September 2021 [Residency]
Dunedin School of Art Public Seminar Programme 2021. https://www.op.ac.nz/about-us/news-and-events/item/8890 ‘ Painting with places and people: Exploring the idea of working collaboratively to see places in unexpected ways’ [Guest speaker]
Creative Practice Research Symposium 2021, WINTEC - “Painting with Places and People”
Artist Talk, Ramp Gallery, March 2020