Biography
1962
Born in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. Spends youth in Lavenham, England.
1980–84
Attends 
Ipswich School of Art for art and design foundation year and Manchester School of Art for Bachelor of Art in filmmaking: Foundation Diploma Art and Design, 1981; BA (Hons) Design for Communication Media, Commendation in Liberal Studies (art history, psychology, sociology), 1984.
1983
Travels throughout the United States.
1984
Moves to London, works in graphic design.
1985–86
Lives in Portugal for three months and Los Angeles for nine months.
1986
Returns to London, makes Super 8 films, including Burning Blue Sky filmed in Portugal.
1988
Moves to Los Angeles, works in film and design.
1989–90
First one-artist exhibitions at AWGO, Los Angeles and Solis, Santa Fe.
1990–91
Lives in Santa Fe.
1991
Returns to Los Angeles, starts James Westwater Recycled Materials: makes design objects including furniture and home accessories.
1993
Sculptures shown at Greenpeace, West Hollywood.
Kathy Bryant, "Collected Thoughts," Los Angeles Times, March 6.
1994
One-artist exhibitions at LA Art, Encino and Lulu's Alibi, Los Angeles.
Moves to New Mexico.
1995
Group exhibitions at Robert Berman Gallery, Santa Monica and Charlotte Jackson Fine Art, Santa Fe.
1996
First two-artist exhibition in New York at Brenda Taylor Gallery and one-artist exhibition at Linda Durham Contemporary Art, Galisteo.
Aline Brandauer, "James Westwater at Linda Durham," Art in America, October.
1997
Artist-in-residence and one-artist exhibition at OffSite, Santa Fe.
Co-founds Art Pod, four-artist collective that exhibits in Santa Fe and Taos until 1999.
Group exhibitions at Ahra Lee Gallery, New York and SITE Santa Fe.
Produces series of monoprints at SITE Santa Fe.
1998
Group exhibitions at Thesaurus, London and Brenda Taylor Gallery, New York.
1999
New Mexico Museum of Art purchases Pod piece.
Receives Santa Fe Art Institute scholarship to participate in Pat Steir Studio Workshop.
Group exhibitions at Kiron Espace, Paris and James Kelly Contemporary, Santa Fe; first time Corners shown.
2000
Zane Fischer, "The Artist Identity," Arté Magazine, summer/fall.
2001
Receives Robert Rauschenberg Change Inc. grant.
One and three-artist exhibitions at Helix Fine Art and James Kelly Contemporary, Santa Fe; first time Ovals shown.
2002
John Carver, "Plumbing the Depths of Space," Trend Magazine, winter/spring.
2003
Co-founds Peace Show, Artists Resistance Movement, co-organizes Peace Show anti Iraq War exhibitions at 25 galleries and other spaces in Santa Fe, and curates Peace Show at Center for Contemporary Arts, Santa Fe.
Produces series of prints with Santa Fe Editions.
2004
One-artist exhibitions at Klaudia Marr Gallery, Santa Fe and Rule Gallery, Denver; three-artist exhibition at Phil Space, Santa Fe; group exhibitions at Rule Gallery, Denver, The Suburban, Chicago, Lothriger Dreizen, Munich, Max Fish, New York and Cream, London.
Receives Santa Fe Art Institute scholarships to participate in Komar and Melamid and Richard Tuttle Studio Workshops and Peter Schjeldahl Critical Writing Workshop.
Aline Brandauer, Jon Carver, 3-D Art/Techné, University of New Mexico Press, pp. 9, 13, 15, 17, 46-51.
Sarah S. King, "James Westwater at Klaudia Marr," Art in America, June/July.
Florian Siedel, "Spacemakers," Bauwelt, September.
2005
One-person 10-year retrospective exhibition at Rule Gallery, Denver.
Receives scholarship to participate at Art Santa Fe; first time lightboxes shown.
Lannan Foundation purchases piece from Exhibitions 2d, Marfa, Texas.
Moves to Beacon, New York.
2006
Group exhibitions at NavtaSchulz Gallery, Chicago, Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles and Exhibitions 2d, Marfa.
Seb Grant producer/director, Artland USA, Series One, Episode 7, presented by Charlie Luxton and Mame McCutchin, Illuminations Films, Sky Arts, UK and Gallery Channel, US, first aired November 23.
Rima Suqi, "Gallery Hopping in Marfa," New York Magazine, October 11.
Museum Art.Plus, Donaueschingen, Germany purchases series of paintings from NavtaSchulz Gallery, Chicago.
2007
One-artist sculpture and painting exhibition at NavtaSchulz Gallery, Chicago; first time Plywood Chateaux shown. Group exhibitions at Threewalls, Chicago, Cinemaland, Los Angeles and Exhibitions 2d, Marfa.
Steven Evans, Zane Fischer, Ryan Schulz, James Westwater: Plywood Chateaux, NavtaSchulz Gallery.
Lloyd Alter, "James Westwater's Plywood Chateau," TreeHugger, September 21.
2008
One-artist sculpture and painting exhibition at Van Brunt Gallery, Beacon; first time Blue Boy paintings shown.
Homeless Chateau shown at Hudson Beach Glass, Beacon.
Participates in Creative Capital Professional Development Workshop, New York.
Founds The Vs culture club, Beacon.
Elaine Louie, "Chateau: The Condensed Version," New York Times, June 5.
2009
Group exhibitions at Heidi Cho Gallery, New York, Van Brunt Gallery, Beacon and Hudson Beach Glass, Beacon.
Lloyd Alter, "Homeless Chateau: A Little Privacy," TreeHugger, January 15.
"Your Flat-pack or Mine?" Times (UK), April 13.
2010
One and two-artist exhibitions at Van Brunt Gallery and Heidi Cho Gallery, New York; first time postcard paintings and wall installations shown.
Alex Johnson, Shedworking: The Alternative Workplace Revolution, Frances Lincoln, pp. 58, 59, 120, 122.
"James Westwater: Postcards and Matchboxes," New York Times, Metropolitan section, July 18.
2011
Group exhibitions at Richard Levy Gallery, Albuquerque and School of Jellyfish, Beacon.
Virginia Sole-Smith, "Schoolhouse Rocks," ReadyMade Magazine, December/January issue, cover article.
Moves to New York City, lives in Kips Bay, Manhattan.
2012
Designs Westwater tartan: inclusion in Scottish Registry of Tartans, National Records of Scotland, Edinburgh.
Awarded Arthur Harris Best in Show in FAR & WIDE at Woodstock Artist's Association and Museum, New York, juried by David A. Ross; first time Drift shown.
Enrolls in MFA Visualization program at Texas A&M University, College Station where also teaches art and design from 2012 to 2013.
Certificate of Completion Teacher Training, 2012, Texas A&M University.
One-artist exhibition at Projects on Ashburn, College Station.
2013
Artist-in-residence at Foundation OBRAS, Evoramonte, Portugal.
Enrolls in PhD Architecture program at Texas A&M University.
2014
Artist-in-residence at Fire Station Artists' Studios, Dublin and Nes Artist Residency, Skagaströnd, Iceland.
Inducted as member of Tau Sigma Delta Honors Society in Architecture and Allied Arts.
One-artist exhibition at Mad Dooley Gallery, Beacon; first time Edges shown.
2015
Artist-in-residence at Foundation OBRAS, Evoramonte.
One-artist exhibition at Evoramonte Castle, Portugal.
2016
Andrea Weber, "Nes Artist Residency," Skagaströnd Review (Paris), March.
Academic Excellence Award, Texas A&M University.
2017
Receives PhD from Texas A&M University.
Dissertation Unknown Architectures: Agnes Martin and Ian Curtis, Oak Trust, Texas A&M University.
Moves to Ithaca, New York; teaches Art+Science course in the Department of Design and Environmental Analysis, College of Human Ecology, Cornell University.
Rebecca Roake, Mobitecture: Architecture on the Move, Phaidon, p. 191.
2018
One-artist exhibition at Martha Van Rensselaer Gallery, Cornell University.
Group exhibitions at Nes Artist Residency, Skagaströnd, Catalyst Gallery, Beacon, Woodstock Artists Association and Museum and Inlet Valley Arts Center (EyeVee), Ithaca.
2019
Moves to Washington, DC, teaches drawing in the Department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources and guest reviewer in the School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, University of Maryland.
Paintings installed at Grayhaven/EyeVee, Ithaca (ongoing).
Smith Schwartz, "Jodi and Ryan's Immaculate Whimsy," Apartment Therapy, December 19.
2020
Receives Teaching Innovation Grant, with Drs. Byoung-Suk Kweon and Naomi Sachs, by the University of Maryland's Office of the Provost.
Creates land art class and curates At Home and Elsewhere: Land Art Under Lockdown in the Department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture, University of Maryland.
Marcina Garner, "Through the Lens of Art: LARC Professor Dr. James Westwater Talks Art Beyond Aesthetics, and Keeping It at the Forefront," PSLA Newsletter, University of Maryland, July 14.
2021
Teaches land art class for second year and curates Spiral Found: Land Art under Lockdown II in the Department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture, University of Maryland.
Samantha Watters, "UMD Students Share Their Land Art Photos in an Online Exhibition, Spiral Found: Land Art Under Lockdown II," AGNR News, University of Maryland, July 27.
2022
MFA committee member, Department of Art, University of Maryland.
Teaches land art class for third year, participates in three-artist installation and curates Notes from the Underground: Land Art Under Lockdown III in the Department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture, University of Maryland.
Graham Binder, "Landscape Architecture Students Present Special Land Art Exhibit," AGNR News, University of Maryland, May 6.