Jason Cordereo, The waters knew the way, 2023. Oil on linen, 122 x 183cm. Courtesy: the artist and Nanda\Hobbs, Sydney.

Jason Cordero‘s landscapes are a conduit to explore “longing” as an ideal; a construction perceived as lost, but one that never truly was. This constant dissatisfaction with the present is coupled with a yearning to reclaim a “Golden Age”. The paintings are created without photographic reference, instead formed instinctively, with composition and palette being resolved as the work develops. Cordero pursues his familiar archetypes within these imagined places; mountains, trees, skies, and their pseudo-reflections are witnessed through the overlaying of anthropomorphic desires. His diptychs capture the uncertain and incomplete nature of the image; one way of hanging denies the other, and neither creates a full composition. We long for a conclusion that exists just beyond our reach.

“In creating these works, I attempt not to be bound by any dogma or singular tradition of Landscape. I produce images using archetypes which at first appear rational and plausible, but on inspection are utopias and fantasies both unreachable and irrational. Beyond the archetypes of mountain, tree, and sky, I also make use of horizons, pseudo-reflection, and fluid perspective, with many works having multiple axes with no one way “up” being absolute. Also, reference to humanities’ physical presence is absent from these works. In their aspect as expressions of deep time, the images remind us that we ourselves are transitory.” – Jason Cordero 2024.

Opening Event: Thursday 23 May, 6 – 8pm.

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