Nancy Watkins English page

In my work humanness encounters nature. I record the drama of the event. Sometimes human made forms resist, contain, and all becomes theater: we, caught, follow nature's infinite mutations—a burning charcoal sunset, a hurrying thunderstorm—protected behind glass. Other times we are without protection and humanness is directly confronted with that awesome grandness and power: fire, water, wind, or simply distance / scale remind us of another drama—life itself.
My painting is grounded in both the American and European traditions: from fourteenth century Senese, to Rembrandt, Turner, on to Millet's seascapes, Ryder, O’Keeffe. Formally it takes the opposite direction of Kandinsky's— from abstract to figure—but interestingly, just like in Kandinsky, inner necessity and spirituality are the guides. I use colors, light, shadow, as well as an allusive prospective, geometry, to form symbolic, essential, wind swept, images of cities, of landscapes, of interiors.

Nancy Watkins has shown in galleries and museums in Europe and North America. She is the author of four books of drawings: Autoritratti senza lo specchio, Visite notturne, Il fiore è un'idea and Visionary Flowers . Her works have been featured in many other publications including magazines and special editions. Born in Chicago, she lives in Rome.

Nancy Watkins Entrance

Nancy Watkins

Exhibitions (*Solo Shows)

2015 Trincee, Il mondo in fiamme e la morte, La Nuova Pesa, Rome.
2013 *Visionary Flowers, curated by Giuseppe Albano, Keats-Shelley House, Rome.
2012 Illustrating Keats, curated by Giuseppe Albano, Keats-Shelley House, Rome.
2010 Romanesca, curated by Maria Ida Gaeta, Casa delle Letterature, Rome.
2009 Arte in copertina, Salone Boromini, Biblioteca Vallicelliana, Rome
2009 Arte in forma di libro, curated by Anna Onesti and Mario Vitalone, Abbazia di San Nilo Museum, Grottaferrata
2007 *The Poet’s Room, curated by Catherine Payling, Keats-Shelley House, Rome.
2007 Elegia del ombra, Casa del Parco, Rome.
2007 Fogli di Formello, curated by Enrico Pulsoni, Centro per l’Incisione e la Grafica d’Arte, Formello.
2006 Poesia e Arte al Parco, Casa del Parco, Rome.
2006 Through the Eyes of Women II, Villa Aurelia, Rome.
2005 Il segno delle donne, Centro per l’Incisione e la Grafica d’Arte, Formello. Curated by Vinicio Prizia.
2004 Percorsi di grafica, Centro per l’Incisione e la Grafica d’Arte, Formello. Curated by Vinicio Prizia.
2002 Through the Eyes of Women, American Academy in Rome.
2000 Una sera all’India, Teatro India, Rome. Curated by Domenico Vuoto.
2000 BNL: una banca per l’arte oltre il mecenatismo, Chiostro del Bramante, Rome. Curated by Enzo Bilardello and Guido Strazza.
1998 Tarsie, Empiria, Rome.
1996 Testimonianze su carta, Il Bulino, Rome. Curated by Sergio Pandolfini.
1994 *Excursions & Incidents, Michele Di Virgilio, Rome.
1994 *Works on Paper, La Panchetta, Bari.
1988 Biennnale donna, Palazzo dei Diamanti, Ferrara.
1985 Mostra internazionale di pittura, Banca d’Italia, Rome.
1985 Collages: 11 proposte, Studio S, Rome. Curated by Carmine Siniscalco.
1982 *Sogni e prodigi, Valentini Gallery, Milan.
1981 Bestiario, Studio S, Rome. Curated by Carmine Siniscalco.
1980 *Cartepinte, Studio S, Rome.
1978 Spring Annual, Lang Art Gallery, Claremont, California.
1977 *Woman and Other Species, Pitzer Atrium, California.

Publications (*Books)

2014 Shimmer of snow, cover image Ladro gentile, by William Shakespeare, Il Labirinto, Rome.
2014 Entrance (and other works)"La parola poetica di Gianfranco Palmery", "Speciali" Treccani Magazine.
2013 * Visionary Flowers by Nancy Watkins, grattage tablets with legends by Lucio Persio, Il Labirinto, Rome.
2012 *Il fiore è un'idea by Nancy Watkins, grattage tablets with legends by Lucio Persio, Il Labirinto, Rome.
2012 Volo, cover image Tieni aperto by Michele Colafato, Il Labirinto, Rome.
2012 I / Eye, The I of the Poet Through the Eye of the Artist, essay with three illustrations for Illustrating Keats, Keats-Shelley House publication, Rome, Italy.
2010 Guardian Demon, cover image Sull'indolenza e altre odi by John Keats, Il Labirinto, Rome.
2010 Petals, cover image The AWAR Forum, LV, n. 1
2010 Corpo esposto, cover image Roma liberatutti by Marziale, Il Labirinto, Rome.
2010 Red Burst, cover image Garden of Delights by Gianfranco Palmery, Gradiva Publications, New York.
2010 Ali e acque, cover image Il fiume nel mare by Alessio Brandolini, LietoColle, Faloppio.
2009 Dipingere la stanza del poeta, essay with five illustrations, Fili d'aquiloni magazine n. 15
2009 Vortex flower, Pagine magazine, XIX, n. 58
2008 Ten drawings, cover and internal drawings of Il Sogno by George Gordon Byron, Edizioni Il Labirinto, Rome.
2008 Fire, cover image Poesia e preghiera, Edizioni Il Labirinto, Rome.
2008 Corona, cover image The AWAR Forum, LII, n. 6.
2007 Guardian Demon, Pagine magazine, XVII, n. 51
2007 Entrance, cover image Intrigo by Teofilo Belz, Edizioni Il Labirinto, Rome.
2007 Shadow Moon, cover image Nostra Signora dei Sogni by Frederick Rolfe, Edizioni Il Labirinto, Rome
2007 Star-flower, cover image The AWAR Forum, LI, n. 6.
2006 *Visite notturne by Nancy Watkins, book of drawings with inscriptions by Lucio Persio, Il Labirinto, Rome.
2006 Lavafall, cover image The 2006-2007 AWAR Handbook & Directory, AWAR, Rome.
2006 Betweenpie Mountains, cover image Senza figure by Enrico Fracassi, Il Labirinto, Rome.
2006 Captured from Black, cover image Racconti mortali by Lucio Persio, Il Labirinto, Rome.
2006 Ibridi, Pagine magazine, XV, n. 46.
2006 Flowers, cover and internal drawings Amore e fama by John Keats, Percy B. Shelley, Il Labirinto, Rome.
2006 Sibyl, cover image Mutuazioni e sconnivenze by Michele Colafato, Il Labirinto, Rome.
2006 Window-Mirror, cover image The AWAR Forum, L, n. 8.
2006 Cat Eye, Pagine magazine, XV, n. 45.
2006 Stone Angel, cover image Lettere tombali, by Jude Stéfan, Il Labirinto, Rome.
2006 Votivo, Pagine magazine, XV, n. 44.
2005 In fiamme, Pagine magazine, XV, n. 43.
2005 Sibyl, cover image The AWAR Forum, XLIX, n. 4.
2004 Presa, cover image Il poeta in 100 pezzi, by Gianfranco Palmery, Il Labirinto, Rome.
2002 Flowers, cover and internal drawings Alla Notte e altre poesie, by Percy Bysshe Shelley, Il Labirinto, Rome.
2002 Volte e volute, Pagine magazine, XIII, n. 34.
2001 Fire Flowers, cover image Sonetti dal portoghese, by Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Il Labirinto, Rome.
2000 Fires, Arvalia website.
2000 Inclinations, cover image Poeti nel tempo del Giubileo, Paideia, Florence.
1999 Arches, cover and internal drawings Roma della vigilia, by Giovanna Sicari, Il Labirinto, Rome.
1998 Liquida distesa senza suono, cover and internal drawings Domenica mattina, by Wallace Stevens, Il Labirinto, Rome.
1997 Mar Rosso, cover and internal drawings Mar Rosso, by Fernanda Romagnoli, Il Labirinto, Rome.
1995 Animal lithographs, Cinquettio, handmade special edition book, printed by R. Bulla for Edizioni Cinquantunosettanta, Rome.
1994 Morning Star, cover and internal drawings La rivelazione della Rosa, stories by W. B. Yeats, Di Virgilio, Rome. (Including a special edition with 56 handcolored copies.)
1994 Gate, cover and internal drawings Sonetti domiciliari by Gianfranco Palmery, Il Labirinto, Rome.
1994 Two drawings, Pagine magazine, V, n. 10–11.
1989 Portrait of Carlo Betocchi, Arsenale magazine, n. 11–12.
1986 Fusione, cover image Arsenale magazine, n. 7–8.
1985 *Autoritratti senza lo specchio by Nancy Watkins, book of drawings with texts by Valerio Magrelli and Domenico Vuoto, Il Labirinto, Rome.
1983 Interni, cover and internal drawings Contrappunto magazine, VII, n. 1.
1981 Sparizione, frontispiece Mitologie by Gianfranco Palmery. (Including a special edition with 30 handcolored copies.)

Bibliography

Enrico Pulsoni, 'Intervista a Nancy Watkins', Insula europea, June 1, 2015
Mario de Candia, 'Nancy Watkins', La Repubblica, March 28, 2013
Sylvia Fortini, 'Intervista a Nancy Watkins', Roma Daily News, March 19, 2013
Luigia Sorrentino, 'Visionary Flowers & Variazioni sul tema dei fiori', RaiNews24, March 19, 2013
'Visionary Flower di Nancy Watkins', Roma Daily News, February 8, 2013
'Nancy Watkins at Keats-Shelley', Wanted in Rome, March 2013
Lea Mattarella, 'Poeti e artisti celebrano Roma', La Repubblica, June 30, 2010
Mario de Candia, 'Romanesca', La Repubblica, June 24, 2010
E. Goletti, 'Books to Cherish', AWAR Forum, Vol LIII, N. 9, June 2009
Sauro Albisani, 'Camera con visioni', Pagine, April - June 2007
Mario de Candia, 'Nancy Watkins', La Repubblica, April 2007
'Il viaggio di Nancy Watkins nella stanza di Keats', Corriere della Sera, 31 March, 2007
Giuseppe Appella, Gianfranco Palmery, Nancy Watkins, The Poet’s Room, Keats-Shelley House Catalog, March, 2007
Sauro Albisani, ‘Poeti nel tempo del Giubileo’, Il Portolano magazine, January 2001.
Elizabeth Duran, ‘Artist Nancy Watkins’, Pitzer Gazette, July 1996.
Daniela De Dominicis, Flash Art, n. 191, April–May 1995.
‘Nancy Watkins’, Corriere della Sera, December 18, 1994.
Mario de Candia, ‘Nancy Watkins’, La Repubblica, December 15, 1994.
‘Excursions & Incidents’, Veneto Views, December 7, 1994.
Victoria Chang, ‘An American Dreamer in Rome’, Metropolitan, December 5, 1994.
‘Paintings by Nancy Watkins’, Casa Gazette, Rome, December, 1994.
Giuseppe Appella, Excursions & Incidents, Michele Di Virgilio Catalog, December, 1994.
Anna D’Elia, ‘Watkins: l’Italia è un cancello’, La Gazzetta del Mezzogiorno, February 10, 1994.
Gianfranco Palmery, Watkins, La Panchetta Catalog, February 1994.
Antonio Debenedetti, ‘Il gruppo di Arsenale’, Corriere della Sera, July 25, 1988.
Gianfranco Palmery, Autoritratti senza lo specchio, Edizioni Il Labirinto, 1985.
Mario Gorini, ‘Mostre d’arte’, Contrappunto, October, 1982.
Sabastiano Grasso, ‘Mostre – Nancy Watkins’, Corriere della Sera, May 1, 1982.
Maria Luisa Spaziani, Sogni e Prodigi, Valentini Art Gallery Catalog, April 1982.
‘Dieci artisti per un bestiario’, Il Tempo, July 4,1981.
Rolando Giglio, ‘Incontri – Nancy Watkins’, Il Messaggero, May 28,1980.

The Poet’s Room exhibition

Interview with the artist

To contact this author: autori labirintolibri.com