Last night in Manhattan, Vladimir Restoin-Roitfeld hosted another of his infamous art openings, impeccably timed to coincide with the beginning of New York Fashion Week. His latest exhibition features the colorful textures of neo-expressionist Ouattara Watts in "Vertigo" with 18 of the works on view for the first time. Watts was born in West Africa in the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire and studied at L’École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris before moving to New York in the late 1980s under the influence of Jean-Michel Basquiat. Working to integrate his love of music and especially jazz with his art, Watts creates his intense collages and paintings primarily from recycled materials. He has shown at the Whitney Museum and the Venice Biennale among other notable venues. The current exhibit is on display through 19 February at 560 Washington Street. Guests toasted the affair afterwards with Hotpants cocktails at Acme, including the mother of the curator, Carine Roitfeld, attired in a striking skirt by Marc Jacobs, nude stockings with black seam by Wolford, and the racy hot rod pumps from the Prada Spring/Summer 2012 collection. Read more about Ouattara Watts in an intriguing interview by Cool Hunting.
Vladimir Restoin-Roitfeld, Ouattara Watts, et al photographs © 2012 Condé Nast and courtesy of vladimirrestoinroitfeld.com, bfanyc.com, patrickmcmullan.com, and artinfo.com. All Rights Reserved.