Andy Kolar’s new show at Walter Maciel Gallery, “Head in the Clouds/Left Hanging,” is a play in three acts. Like any good play, and more so than most solo exhibitions, there is a vital rhythm and active plot – a cadence. And for good reason: Kolar’s exploration of abstraction is as varied as the materials and works themselves, and so it’s vital to construct some sort of order. So in that vein, Kolar’s works can be broken into three modes: pure, formed, and manifested.

“Head in the Clouds” begins with the pure abstraction, the painting series that Kolar refers to as Slings. These smaller works, which comprise the majority of the show, are mainly thin colored strands extending from the top half of the canvas on a nearly white background. The backgrounds are cloud-like, the white spaces broken up with small patches of blue. The slings themselves, all grouped from similar color palettes per work, are reminiscent of much yet particular of little: roots of a plant, strings of balloons, a hand reaching out.

These paintings offer the base – the inciting incident – of the entire exhibition. From them spring forth a wealth of action, beginning with a trio of paintings which begin to unite the disparate elements of each of the Sling series. The slings attain weight and interact with one another. They intersect, overlap, and begin to create entire scenes. The slings are no longer just aesthetic and conceptual; they grasp ahold of purpose and life. With them, the exhibition generates a growing momentum, and Kolar’s vision for his slings begins to take on a greater structure.

This structure is fully realized when the slings leave the canvas itself and enter into the physical space. When Kolar transforms his abstraction into sculpture, the sense of purpose vested in each becomes exponentially greater. Some of the sculptures illustrate the slings themselves, such as Loose Connection (2021), while others demonstrate means of production and practicality, likening the craft of abstract painting to construction. In one piece, Kolar affirms this connection with a simple wooden tool-box, each compartment filled to the brim with paint. Kolar lifts his works out of the abstract, summoning them into reality and practicality by wielding his symbols like blowtorches and claw hammers.

Walter Maciel Gallery
2642 S. La Cienega Blvd.
Los Angeles, California 90034
Thru Aug 20th, 2021