Constructing Paradise no. 3 2012

Darren Waterston made Constructing Paradise no. 3 with paint, and perhaps other media, in a way that feels like an experiment. The palette is like an antique photograph, muted greens and reds that evoke a memory of a landscape rather than the thing itself. There’s a real push and pull in the materiality, between the washes of translucent color and the drips which sit on the surface. I’m drawn to the way the red seems to bleed, like a wound or an infection, hinting that paradise is not so easily won. The whole thing reminds me of Albert Pinkham Ryder’s landscapes, dreamy and melancholic, more felt than seen. This piece exists in that ambiguous space, inviting us to wander through its layers of meaning and feeling, a place where beauty and unease coexist.