Hollywood

In her first solo show painter Lisa Adams’ organic abstract paintings have a rich and sensual presence. The canvases are large, with rounded overlaid shapes that seem to move in shallow space like amoebas on a glass slide. But these environments feel dry, fixed by chalky colors and huge flaps of shiny linoleum flooring. The linoleum is a cut shape, painted on the back, set down then moved repeatedly to create spinning movement or unexpected slippery dislocation from sticky paint.

The combination of the painted organic forms and the use of the mass produced flooring sets one in mind of Lari Pittman’s paintings that incorporate pieces of wall paper painted with vegetable forms. Adams’ forms seem more animal than vegetable, however, consistently suggesting animated, transparent microbes crossed with cyclones, labyrinths or wriggling earth worms. Even when the cut out linoleum shapes suggest a Frank Stella protractor, there is thankfully more organic metabolism than painterly decoration to the images. (Newspace, 5241 Melrose Ave., to July 15.)