James E. Watts thinks of his studio as a sanctuary. He named it The James Watts Institute for Artistic Behavior. Located at street level in the Gaslamp Quarter of San Diego, he welcomes people who walk by and pause to look in the window. Watts’s sculpture is often inspired by classic literature such as The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Don Quixote. Characters from books are transformed as Watts carves, hammers, fastens, and bolts pieces of salvage and scrap metal. He is known for repurposing metal lunch boxes, cookie tins, and assorted metal ephemera.
Curated by Beth Smith, this exhibition sees Watts’s personality in every figure, a light-hearted mix of humor and social commentary.
