47. Ouattara Watts (Côte d'Ivoire, born 1957) Pythagor and Thot signed, dated and situated on the reverse; Vrej Baghoomian Gallery label on the stretcher on the reverse acrylic on canvas and wood panel, with collage of a wooden boat 174 x 198,5cm (with boat) 68 1/2 x 78 1/8in. Executed in 1990. signed, dated and situated on the reverse; label of the Vrej Baghoomian Gallery on the frame on the reverse acrylic pigment on canvas and on pannel, with collage of wooden boat Provenance Private collection, France. Ouattara Watts, born in 1957 in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, is an artist whose practice transcends cultural and artistic boundaries. Trained at the École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts in Paris, he met Jean-Michel Basquiat in New York in 1988, an encounter that influenced his career and led him to settle in this cosmopolitan city. Watts' art is characterised by a dense, symbolic pictorial language, fusing references to African culture and ancestral spirituality with more contemporary influences such as jazz, science and cosmology. His works explore notions of interconnection between visible and invisible worlds, creating complex dialogues between past and present, local and global. During the 1990s, Ouattara Watts produced works of great intensity, marked by vivid compositions in which colour, material and symbol combine to form a powerful visual language. His canvases, often large-scale, are criss-crossed by enigmatic figures, geometric patterns and esoteric signs. Watts draws on African systems of thought, while incorporating elements of modern abstraction and surrealism. The omnipresent circular forms suggest cosmic and spiritual cycles, while the vibrant colours, dominated by reds, blues and yellows, evoke a vital energy, an almost musical pulsation. The spiritual and cosmological dimension of his works from the 1990s is also revealed through mysterious signs, numbers, letters and geometric shapes reminiscent of divination systems or star charts. These symbols, recurrent in Watts's work, are not just ornaments, but form part of a deeper reflection on the balance between matter and spirit, visible and invisible. In these complex compositions, the artist invites us to explore the occult forces and energies that govern the universe, offering a vision of the world in which art becomes a space of mediation between the tangible and the mystical. Ouattara Watts' work over the past decade has been at the crossroads of cultures and temporalities. They question the flux between African heritages and contemporary concerns, while creating a space where each element, each colour, each symbol plays a part in a wider narrative. The decade of the 1990s marked a period of great maturation for the artist, when his pictorial research reached a singular intensity that was both personal and universal. Ouattara Watts, born in 1957 in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, is an artist whose work transcends cultural and artistic boundaries. Trained at the École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts in Paris, his encounter with Jean-Michel Basquiat in 1988 in New York was a pivotal moment that significantly influenced his career and led him to settle in this cosmopolitan city. Watts' art is characterized by a dense and symbolic pictorial language, blending references to African culture, ancestral spiritualities, and contemporary influences such as jazz, science, and cosmology. His works explore the interconnections between visible and invisible worlds, creating complex dialogues between past and present, local and global. In the 1990s, Ouattara Watts produced works of great intensity, marked by vibrant compositions where colour, material, and symbol converge to form a powerful visual language. His large-scale canvases are filled with enigmatic figures, geometric patterns, and esoteric signs. Watts draws from the African heritage of thought systems, while also incorporating elements of modern abstraction and surrealism. Circular shapes, omnipresent in his works, suggest cosmic and spiritual cycles, while vibrant colours-dominated by reds, blues, and yellows-evoke a vital energy, a pulse that is almost musical. The spiritual and cosmological dimension of his 1990s works is also revealed through mysterious signs, numbers, letters, and geometric forms reminiscent of divination systems or star charts. These recurring symbols in Watts' work are not merely decorative but are part of a deeper reflection on the balance between matter and spirit, visible and invisible. In these intricate compositions, the artist invites us to explore the occult forces and energies that govern the universe, offering a vision where art becomes a space of mediation between the tangible and the mystical. Ouattara Watts' works from this decade exist at the crossroads of cultures and temporalities. They interrogate the flow between African heritage and contemporary concerns, while creating a space where each element, colour, and symbol plays a role in a broader narrative. The 1990s mark a period of great maturation for the artist, during which his pictorial explorations reached a singular intensity, both personal and universal.