Waterston’s paintings in Ecstatic Landscape explore ideas around the constructed, imagined landscape, not working from observation but instead with strong art historical references. They bring forth pictorial constructions and conventions that reference the inventive and very peculiar landscapes of the 16th century, in particular the paintings of Albrecht Altdorfer (1480-1538) and the Flemish Primitives. Waterston says, “I have always held unwavering interest in the early history of landscape painting – its origins as an independent genre and the strangeness of its imagined spaces, both physical and psychological.”
This body of work was exhibited alongside Studio Wall: Some Trees, an intimate installation composed of historical works placed alongside Waterston’s small panel paintings and works on paper. Together, they inform each other and speak to the meditative, spiritual connection found in nature.
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Vista, 2017 oil on wood panel 72 x 60 inches
Tree Worshipers no. 1, 2017 watercolor on rag paper 16 x 12 inches
To Meet As Far This Morning, 2018 oil on canvas 96 x 72 inches
The Ascetic's Retreat, 2018 oil on canvas 96 x 72 inches
Outlook, 2018 oil on canvas 96 x 72 inches
Miracle, 2018 oil on wood panel 24 x 24 inches
Inversion Landscape no. 1, 2018 oil on wood panel 36 x 72 inches
Abundance, 2017 oil on wood panel 24 x 24 inches
Berge, 2017 oil on wood panel 48 x 48 inches