Symbolic Expressionism Through
Emotion, Memory and Place.
Symbolic Expressionist: combining expressive abstraction with symbolic figuration to explore the human condition.
Paint, Presence, and Expression
Between Form and Expression
A Life Shaped by Art
From Slade School to the Studio
Trained at the Slade School of Fine Art, UCL in London, Jack Watto studied under influential British artists including Frank Auerbach, Keith Vaughan, and Howard Hodgkin. This formative grounding instilled in him a deep respect for figurative work, structure, and expressive freedom, qualities that continue to Shape his work today.
Before dedicating himself fully to painting, Jack spent many years as an Architectural Sculptor and Restorator, contributing to heritage projects throughout Europe and the UK for UNESCO and English Heritage. This experience brought a lasting sense of form, history, and material sensitivity into his paintings.
A Language of Paint
Symbolic Figuration and Expressive Abstraction
Now working full-time from his two studios in Kettering, Jack paints with instinctive energy and honesty. His work exists within a language of Symbolic Expressionism, combining symbolic figuration with expressive abstraction, with each painting emerging from an emotional response, an internal current, or a reaction to the world around him.
His recent series, Art for Planet Earth, Protesting with a Paintbrush, marked a powerful evolution in his practice through large-scale works responding to environmental and social challenges. Following solo exhibitions across Northamptonshire, Jack’s work continues to evolve while retaining the human presence and emotional resonance that underpin his paintings.
