Jim Watt | 1000W

1000W is a multi-dimensional project that centers on 1000 ink washes, painted with Japanese Sumi ink and water on paper. They will be released in five series of 200. The first two hundred are available now. Each series will include a few curated groups. 1-200 features a group of four, two groups of twelve, and a group of thirty. A short digital film capturing the painting of each group will be included with the purchase. The films will be scored by jazz trumpeter Antoine Drye. 

Drye is a creative partner on the project, as the ink washes are created in conversation with improvisational jazz. The interaction between the painter and an assemblage of featured musicians, curated by and including Drye, will be featured in live performances of 1000W. Footage of an overhead camera capturing the works as they are created will be projected for the artists and the audience to see. Each artist’s work informs the other. The music and the art are created in real time, in the same moment.

A film, produced and directed by Danny Clinch, will chronicle the entirety of the project. Clinch will draw from the overhead footage, live performances, and studio visits. In addition to the film, an album featuring the music produced in these sessions will be released at the conclusion of 1000W.

1000 ink washes will be on offer for $350 each, some curated selections will be sold together with a digital film of their creation. Beyond this collaboration, Watt and the gallery will donate $100 per artwork sold in hopes to raise $100,000 for the jazz community, hard-hit by the pandemic shutdown of performance venues all over the world.