Recent Work
Splendid Grief: Darren Waterston and the Afterlife of Leland Stanford, Jr.
Despite their reputation for emotional restraint, Victorians indulged in complex and elaborate rituals surrounding death and mourning. No better example is the case of Leland Stanford Jr., the only son of Leland and Jane Stanford, who died at the tender age of 15 from typhoid fever while on a visit to Florence, Italy. The family's immense loss became the impetus for several commissioned monuments and works of art that perpetuated their son's memory. One of these splendid memorials was the Leland Stanford Jr. Museum (now the Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Center for Visual Arts) that was founded as part of the university that bears the child's name. Waterston became fascinated with the university and particularly the story of Leland Jr. and his grieving parents. Working with the university staff, Waterston explored the library's Special Collections and the museum's Stanford Family holdings.
In these repositories he found paintings, photographs, and documents relating to the life of Leland Stanford Jr., as well as objects such as chalkboards from séances held by Mrs. Stanford after her son's death. The story of the founders as studied and interpreted by artist Darren Waterston resulted in this installation that combines his twenty-first century paintings and works on paper with nineteenth-century objects and artifacts relating to the life and death of Leland Stanford Jr. Inspired by the elaborate theatrics of a Victorian mourning parlor, the artist has transformed the Halperin Gallery into a space for reflection on death and dying.
The Flowering & Recent Prints
The Flowering (The Fourfold Sense), is a unique portfolio of original prints by Darren Waterston, accompanied by original texts by Tyrus Miller, exploring the senses and bodily experiences of Saint Francis of Assisi. Produced in collaboration with Gallery 16 in San Francisco.
Aurora
Aurora consists of a series of paintings in which the artist explores ideas surrounding the sublime. Through depictions of abstracted infinite vistas, these works aim at pictorial representation of mental states. The tangible imagery of auroral arcs, prismatic refractions, electrical fields and charged particles are utilized to project glimpses into immaterial universes, planes or ethereal realms. On view at Michael Kohn Gallery, Los Angeles from November 7- December 20, 2008
Last Days
An exhibition of paintings and works on paper at Greg Kucera Gallery, Seattle on view from January 3 - February 9, 2008. Essay by Tyrus Miller.
Parlor
A salon style installation of works on paper exhibited at Michael Kohn Gallery in Los Angeles from September 15 - October 13, 2007.
Fugue
An exhibition of works on paper exhibited at Inman Gallery in Houston from June 22 - August 11, 2007.
Was and Is Not and Is To Come
A site-specific mural depicting an abstract narrative based on the theme of apocalypse exhibited at the San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art from November 17, 2006 - January 6, 2007. Essay by Cathy Kimball.
Hyle
An exhibition of paintings on panel at Galerie Jean-Luc & Takako Richard in Paris, France, from June 24 - July 29, 2006. Essay by David Pagel.
Turning Back In
A site-specific installation alongside paintings and works on paper exhibited at Haines Gallery in San Francisco from April 28 - June 4, 2005.
Other
A grouping of various paintings, watercolors and prints produced from 2004 - 2008.