Marie Watt

Portland State University MFA Monday Night Lecture Series

Marie Watt (born 1967) is a contemporary artist living and working in Portland, Oregon. Part Seneca, Watt has created work centered on contemporary Native American themes. She holds a B.A. in art from Willamette University and a Master's Degree from Yale University. She has also studied at the Institute of American Indian Arts.

Watt's art is primarily lithography and sculpture. For her sculpture, she uses a variety of materials, including everyday objects, as well as textiles, alabaster, slate, and cornhusks. In 2002, her stone sculpture Pedestrian was installed along the east bank of the Willamette River in Portland. Her work has appeared in several exhibitions in the Pacific Northwest and beyond.

In 2004, as part of the Continuum 12 artists series, an exhibit of her work opened in New York City and the George Gustav Heye Center of the National Museum of the American Indian. The exhibit includes Blanket Stories, a sculpture made of two towers of wool blankets, with each stack sewn together with a central thread. The blankets are ones Watt collected over several years, including many Hudson's Bay point blankets that were given to Native Americans in trade by the Hudson's Bay Company during the 19th century.

Portland State University's Art Department offers free public lectures every Monday night of the school year. This is the twentieth lecture in the PMMNLS for this season. The PSU MFA Monday Night Lecture Series is supported in part by PICA, Reed College, PNCA, Lewis and Clark College, PSU's Department of International Studies, and Ben Rosenberg Studio. If you or your organization are interested in becoming a supporter of the lecture series please let us know.

View the complete list of upcoming lectures.