LONG BEACH

Exploiting an “expressionistic” vocabulary notable for its vibrant palette and vigorous brush strokes, Clark Walding’s paintings have tended to concentrate on confrontative, anonymous figures in turbulent landscapes. However, his ostensible “subjects” have always seemed secondary to the visceral indulgence of the paint handling itself, as if Walding were more in love with impasto and gesture as emotive processes than intrinsic representational discovery.

This is particularly evident in a new series of paintings that focus on a disembodied human hand. Set against muddy, amorphous backgrounds that resemble a stylistic cross between Andre Derain and Anselm Kiefer, each hand vacillates between a recognizable human gesture--grasping, groping and reaching--and the ‘60s biomorphism of John Altoon.

At their best, the works generate an ambiguous push-pull between subject and ground, figuration and abstraction. Unfortunately, any metaphorical resonance is completely overwhelmed by Walding’s continued predilection for dated expressionistic mannerism. Unless he comes up with a credible subject matter to counterbalance his bombastic excesses, Walding is destined to remain an accomplished colorist with very little to say. (Works Gallery, 2740 E. Broadway, to Oct. 5.)