LA CIENEGA AREA

Michael Wingo’s new abstract landscapes have all the earmarks of boffo art. Hunks of pistachio green, luxurious lavender and resonant scarlet set the stage for pictorial drama. Big corkscrew clouds, wedge-shape divisions and allusions to landscape further the possibilities of a spacious statement. Why then do the pictures finally come across as shy, or even tentative? True, an occasional smaller effort like “Valkyrie” works up enough energy to refer to the galumphing expressionism of late Philip Guston, but it all soon slumps back into lethargy.

Fact is, this art refuses to challenge itself. It just avoids the pictorial complexities that reward tough problem-solving with dense structure. We are left with affable pictures laid back to the point of laziness. (Terry Delapp Gallery, 800 N. La Cienega Blvd., to June 15.)