The word paradise is derived from the ancient Persian– a green place. Paradise haunts gardens, and some gardens are paradises. Mine is one of them.*
In the solo exhibition ‘A Garden Path’, Dutch artist Marc Mulders mimics the abundance of nature surrounding his studio. With these farmlands in mind, he paints in smudgy textures and very fine strokes. He directs his brushes to, as he says, be like gardening tools. They comb the paint, and his long pencils scrounge the canvas, drawing and glazing imaginary paths in oil paint. The paradisal aesthetics touch on Persian miniatures and Early Christian imagery. In the exhibition space, his paintings, of sunflowers to name one, have an almost cupping, absorbing quality. They invite an active relationship to the plants, flowers, and all greenery wildering.
* Derek Jarman, Derek Jarman’s Garden
