Liselotte Watkins

Liselotte Watkins is a Swedish illustrator, designer and artist known for her unique aesthetic, weaving together art historical influences with personal narratives. Based on distinctive, characteristic figures and colour schemes, her work easily catches the viewer’s eye. Watkins often explores different places and environments, notably drawing inspiration from Italy, her chosen country of residence, with its rich history and cultural treasures. Further inspiration is found, closer at hand, in her studio (filled with books, papers and various collected images). Her studio environment serves as a microcosm where she creates new stories and narratives, blending different times and geographical places into her compositions. When asked, ahead of her 2021 exhibition Italien (Italy) at Millesgården, Stockholm, if any particular artist or art historical period had inspired her, she replied:

Here in Rome and Florence, it’s hard to escape the Renaissance and Bernini (1598 - 1680) and Michelangelo (1475 - 1564), which you have to relate to. But I have also been very inspired by Cy Twombly (1928-2011) who lived here for many years. In Milan, it was Carla Accardi (1924-2014) and Nathalie du Pasquier (b. 1957). In Paris, I became obsessed with Picasso(1881 - 1973). New York gave me Andy Warhol (1928 - 1987) and Stockholm Sigrid Hjertén (1885 - 1948).

Born in 1971, her career took off after studies, specialising in advertising and illustration, at the Art Institute of Dallas, Texas, U.S.A. She initially made a name for herself in New York, at the close of the 1990s, as a fashion illustrator, working for prestigious clients like Barneys, Prada, Elle, Vogue, The New Yorker and New York Times.

When her time in New York came to an end, Watkins returned to Stockholm where she worked on illustration and design assignments in collaboration with Prada, Miu Miu, NK and Absolut Vodka, among others. After having also lived in Paris and Milan, Watkins relocated to Rome where she ended her lauded career as a fashion illustrator in order to focus exclusively on her own art, dedicating herself mostly to studio painting. Since 2016 Watkins has thus primarily worked as a painter, currently from her base in Siena, Tuscany. In a 2018 interview (‘A Swedish Fashion Illustrator Turned Visual Artist Reflects on a Career Spent Documenting Women’), published in Vogue (27 February 2018), Watkins told Noor Brara about her preoccupation with ‘all the shades of women’ in various media:

Watkins has, since the beginning of her illustrious career (in all of its varying forms), effectively dedicated herself to documenting what she describes as ‘all the shades of women’ in various media. It all began with a 25- year venture as a fashion illustrator. For glossy magazines (like Vogue) and clothing brands, she dreamed up stylish, hard-edged characters with defiant glints in their eyes that conveyed both a steely confidence and the kind of nonchalance young girls always seem to be after—two things that she herself did not possess at the time of their creation. ‘I grew up in the countryside about two hours outside Stockholm,’ she says. ‘I moved to Texas right when I turned 17 and went to art school, so you can say it was a bit of a change. From there, I went to New York, where I lived for a while; for a long time, I felt that particular sort of New York loneliness that seemed to be helped by drawing these girls. In a way, I tried to channel their sureness. It was like therapy.’

Her subjects are still mostly women, often drawn from daily life in Italy, executed in a distinctive geometric style, defined by depth and texture, in light muted colours. Another defining feature of Watkins’ artistry is her use of symbolism and the collage-like placement of objects, like photographs and vintage books, within her paintings. This approach transforms everyday items into puzzle pieces that communicate with each other, reflecting her cultural heritage and interests as well as offering the viewer a glimpse into her daily life. Her fascination with the female form, both in art and in everyday contexts, is a recurring theme that adds depth to her narratives.

Watkins’s colour palette has evolved over the years, from the vibrant hues, inspired by the Italian countryside, to the softer, more romantic, tones of her time in Rome. Her recent works, particularly during the COVID-19 lockdown period in Italy, exhibit a patina and a sense of history, achieved through materials sourced from antiquarian bookshops and markets. Watkins continues to captivate audiences with her richly layered, and symbolically charged, works that bridge the gap between the past and the present as well as between the personal and the universal.

Her exhibitions have been well-received, with notable shows at CFHILL and other venues, including: Illustrationer och konversationer / Kamikaze, Riche, Stockholm (2009); Porträtt och flora, Riche, Stockholm (2012); Portraits, CFHILL, Stockholm (2016); Liselotte Watkins & Sigrid Hjertén, CFHILL, Stockholm (2018); Sbiadito, Villa San Michele, Capri, Italy (2019); Altre Stanze, CFHILL, Stockholm (2020); Italien, Millesgården, Stockholm (2021), La Gita, CFHILL, Stockholm (2022) and Liselotte Watkins på Teatergrillen, Teatergrillen, Stockholm (2024).

Together with Stefania Malmsten, Watkins has produced the book WATKINS’ HEROINE (2004) and illustrated books by Karina Ericsson Wärn and Thomas Aronsson, among others. Other books by Watkins include Watkins’ Box of Pin-ups (2009) and Watkins’ No. 1 (2009). Watkins has also collected classical amphorae which she has turned into new artworks (decorated in her characteristic imagery), whilst also working with site-specific commissions in textile as well as ceramics. One recent example, Marx and Smith (named after/inspired by Karl Marx [1818-1883] and Adam Smith [1723-1790]), is a pair of urns (donated by Michael Storåkers) that were especially created by Watkins for the Stockholm School of Economics in 2023.

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