Mx Watson
Beginnings: The Making of an Artist
Mx Jo Watson is an Argentine painter and art director who identifies as non-binary.
Their distinctive use of black in painting can be traced back to a transformative childhood event. At the age of two, they survived a near-drowning accident in their family’s swimming pool. After recovering, they developed a special connection to water. Only their siblings noticed the subtle yet profound shift in their temperament. The only thing that seemed to bring them comfort was dipping their feet into the pool, as if reconnecting with another sense. This experience marked the beginning of an unspoken transformation that would later surface in their art.
From that point on, painting became an essential part of their expression and daily routine. Their use of black was particularly distinctive—even in their primary school years, their artwork featured a strong presence of black, consistently balanced with vibrant compositions. While their parents supported their dedication to painting, they were also concerned about this intense fixation. To subtly intervene, they arranged private art lessons. At age 10, after being admitted to the Sepia Group, led by Cocó Machado, they began oil painting classes. It was then that their mother discreetly removed the black bottle from their new oil set. Due to memory issues, Mx Watson didn’t consciously notice its absence, yet their artistic evolution continued to unfold.
As a largely self-taught painter, they quickly developed their own style and went on to win several awards in young artist categories.
The black colour returned to their palette at age 17 when they submitted a painting to a competition organized by an art shop that provided sample products to participants. Mx Watson received a 30 ml bottle of black oil paint. The moment they held it, they felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity—something they had been missing for a long time. They instinctively incorporated it into their practice, unaware of the deeper connection it would soon unveil.
A few months later, they began experiencing intense sensations whenever they approached the same pool where their childhood accident had occurred. Beneath a familiar numbness, a series of stark black-and-white forms would flash through their mind, each carrying a powerful emotional charge. The final image would bring an overwhelming, almost unbearable happiness—so intense that they would plead for the vision to end, only for it to vanish a second later.
As these episodes repeated, Mx Watson sought therapy rooted in Jungian dream analysis. Through this process, they uncovered a buried truth: since the age of two, they had been unconsciously reliving the drowning—sometimes multiple times a day. Painting, often compulsive, had been their only means of fully embracing the moment, a silent yet urgent channel for expression.
For Mx Watson, painting is a deliberate return to that space and time—an act of creation intertwined with memory, sensation, and the ever-present dialogue between life and death.
Between Tradition and Innovation: Education and Exploration
In 2005, Mx Watson created Automatisms, a series of automatic drawing exercises aimed at breaking free from social constructs and reconnecting with their raw, unfiltered creative force. This practice became a cornerstone of their artistic journey, with the distinctive fusion of automatic black-and-white lines—interwoven with bold, vibrant colors—evolving into their signature style.
During this time, they dedicated themselves to self-taught studies of Sumi-e techniques, which allowed them to reframe the meaning of black beyond its conventional Western connotations, giving it a new, personal significance in their work.
In 2006, while embracing the rise of digital media, Mx Watson remained grounded in the value of artistic tradition. With intention, they began formal studies, initially training as an art teacher before shifting focus to earn a higher technical degree in digital visual arts and communication. This dual perspective enabled them to seamlessly merge both worlds, equipping them with the tools to explore interactive art in the future. Prior to integrating Augmented Reality into their work, they honed their skills as a digital illustrator and graphic designer, expanding their artistic expression across diverse mediums—from canvas and murals to the world of video games.
The City as a Living Canvas: Automatic City Buenos Aires
In 2008, they traveled to Australia for the first time to reconnect with their father’s family. While walking along Sydney’s Circular Quay, they saw their Automatisms come to life—flowing across and within the city’s architecture. In that moment, they realized that their next artistic theme would be Cities.
In 2009, Mx Watson met Peruvian artist Miguel Lescano Tena and Argentine artist Martín Riwnij, whose inspiration and support encouraged them to fully immerse themselves in the creation of Automatic City (Buenos Aires). Inspired by the intricate, interwoven lives of people in the capital, they envisioned the city as a living organism—constantly shaping and reshaping itself in response to human events. Their black-and-white and coloured Automatisms expanded onto large canvases, where they experimented with oil paint and mixed media techniques. The series took on a dynamic, urban aesthetic, reminiscent of graphic novels yet deeply rooted in the organic pulse of the city.
From 2010 to 2011, worked as an assistant at the Arroyo Remates SRL auction house, where they encountered some of Argentina’s most renowned contemporary artists and gained firsthand exposure to their work. Among these artists, Adolfo Nigro and César López Osornio (Director of the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de La Plata) played pivotal roles in shaping Mx Watson’s career. They were instrumental in selecting Mx Watson’s artwork for the first auctions dedicated to emerging artists in Buenos Aires, hosted by the official bank of the city, Banco Ciudad.
Mx Watson’s work was first presented at ArteBa 2011 under the auspices of Banco Ciudad. At this time, they went by the artistic name Josie Watson and achieved great success, selling their paintings at auctions for several years. In 2016, they were reclassified as contemporary artists and began participating in high-profile auctions.
In 2013, Automatic City was invited to be exhibited at the Museo Dardo Rocha, the main museum of La Plata, where it was presented alongside fellow artist Pilar Carballido, whose work focused on urban abstractions.
In July 2014, they held their first major solo exhibition at the British Arts Center of the AACI (Asociación Argentina de Cultura Inglesa) in Buenos Aires. For this occasion, the artist borrowed most of the pieces from private collectors who had acquired their work through auctions or direct sales over the years. This made the exhibition a rare, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see these artworks gathered in one place before they returned to their respective owners.
The exhibition was later showcased at the Sala Municipal Leopoldo Marechal in Hurlingham, in the western region of Greater Buenos Aires, where the artist was raised. This presentation served as a tribute to their childhood, the Grupo Sepia, and the artists of the Western region.
Brief but Powerful: Two Transformative Series
Between 2013 and 2015, they created Implosion and Spatials, two limited series of vividly colored paintings that seemingly suggested a departure from their previous work, exploring an introspective journey of spirituality and sensuality.
The influence of Implosion extended into their ongoing series at the time, Automatic City, infusing it with a newfound intensity of color and leaving a lasting impact on their artistic evolution. Consisting of only seven pieces, the series was exhibited privately and can be viewed exclusively through this website.
Meanwhile, the Spatials series, available exclusively through private sales, played a pivotal role in shaping their mural work during that period. For years, Mx Watson worked as a specialist muralist for interior and marketing design agencies in Buenos Aires, mastering the art of translating digital hues into mural pigments with exceptional accuracy and efficiency.
Automatic City Reimagined: The Digital Evolution
In 2017, Mx Watson felt a strong urge to connect with their generation, leading them to develop an interactive art exhibition inspired by their Ciudad Automática series. With the support of a private sponsor, they launched a trial exhibition at Banco Ciudad’s Sala Martin Malharro art exhibition space. This groundbreaking project fused painting, drawing, literature, digital projections, interactive installations, live performance, original music, animations, an app, and Augmented Reality—creating a millennial-driven form of urban expression that captured the essence of Buenos Aires. To bring this vision to life, they collaborated with dancers, theater and film directors, sound designers, animators, projection mapping specialists, and various programmers.
The exhibition quickly gained public attention, securing Banco Ciudad’s official sponsorship for a larger, consolidated showcase. Mx Watson also won support from Mecenazgo, the city of Buenos Aires’ prestigious patronage program.
The final exhibition was held at Casa Matriz art exhibition space at Banco Ciudad’s headquarters. It featured paintings enhanced with Augmented Reality, digital projections, interactive artworks coded for audience engagement, and a dedicated performance that was later adapted for the theater. This innovative exhibition earned Mx Watson an invitation to the Salón de Honor at the Legislatura Porteña, where their work (then known as Josie Watson) was formally recognized by the Buenos Aires City Council.
Through this experience, they realized the profound importance of enhancing cultural heritage through the thoughtful integration of new digital arts and technologies. In 2018, to deepen their understanding, they pursued a postgraduate course in heritage preservation at the University of Tres de Febrero, under the auspices of FEDESPA (Federation of Spanish Societies in Argentina). During the same period, they launched the AR App WatsOnArt®, debuting it at La Noche de los Museos with a presentation at “Los 36 Billares” on Avenida de Mayo in Buenos Aires.
In 2019, Mx Watson embarked on a European tour, presenting WatsOn App and Automatic City in exhibitions across Paris, London, and Berlin. The highlight of this tour was a solo exhibition at the Global Tilt Brush Art Fest & Tournament, sponsored by Google, held at the Realities Centre in London.
Heritage & Creation: The Scottish Trip That Redefined Art
Alongside their professional commitments, they traveled to Scotland twice in search of their ancestral roots—a journey inspired by a trip led by their aunt, who had embarked on the same quest years earlier but was unable to complete it. After extensive exploration across Aberdeenshire and the Highlands, they ultimately traced the Watson family’s origins to Portsoy and Cairns. There, they uncovered their ancestral hometown and discovered the graves of their forebears, shedding light on long-lost family stories.
During these personal travels, they began collecting wooden lids from discarded Argentine wine boxes found in a London cellar. These reclaimed surfaces became the foundation for a new series of works “The Thisle“, where they painted motifs inspired by their Scottish heritage. Using ochre and white tones, they sought to capture the essence of both Argentina and Scotland—interweaving personal history with artistic expression.
At this moment, working on wood became deeply tied to the concept of land and origin, a connection sparked by the wine boxes themselves. Red wine held a special significance in their family, and these discarded wooden lids carried a sense of history and reverence, making them the perfect canvas for their evolving artistic expression.
Art, Fate, and a City: How Berlin Became the Next Chapter
In 2020, the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic forced Mx Watson to pause their travels in Berlin—unaware that this unplanned stay would mark the beginning of a new chapter, ultimately preventing their return to Buenos Aires.
Almost instantly after their arrival, their artwork began to transform, influenced by both the unfamiliar surroundings and the introspective impact of their recent journeys to Scotland. Their practice first solidified on wood surfaces, recalling their early days at art teacher school, where they had studied xylography—a printmaking technique using a wooden matrix. Next, the warm ochres of their palette gave way to stark black and white. Finally, a defining new element emerged: the carved line, marking the birth of an entirely new artistic language.
During this period, they were awarded a sponsored studio residency at Monopol, a former GDR distillery repurposed as an artists’ hub. It was there that the Argentine Embassy in Germany took notice of their evolving work and invited them to exhibit their latest series. To work for this exhibition they settled temporarily their art studio in Luckenwalde capital of Treptow-Flëming.
In September 2022, Mx Watson held a solo exhibition titled Automatic City: Der Zeitgeist at the Jorge Luis Borges Exhibition Hall of the Argentine Embassy in Germany, in the city of Berlin.
Following this exhibition, they began planning a four month visit to Australia. To fully embrace this trip, they downsized their studio and belongings in Germany to the essentials, using this period not only as a moment of transition but also as an opportunity to reassess whether, now that the world had returned to “normal,” they would continue living in Germany.
Ancestry and Reunion in Australia
Today, Mx Watson lives and works in Berlin. Their artworks are part of private collections in Argentina, as well as in Hong Kong, Canada, the USA, and Germany.