La Cienega Area

Lowlander in the Highlands: Born and schooled in the Netherlands, Rudi Verhoeven now lives and works in New Mexico. A first L.A. show includes a group of interesting and well appointed abstract constructions that pull together everything from lush paint to bits of paper-thin metal and sail cloth to make seductive, rough-hewn surfaces

He inscribes all manner of dexterous calligraphic marks that start to look like arcane emblems with meanings we’re not privy to. He is at his best when his graceful draftsmanship isn’t overwhelmed by smoldering finishes. “In the Rift” features an upper and lower band of layered color, each robust swath of hue both obliterating and enhancing the one beneath it. Peeking through this are random, loosely painted patterns so sketchy that they resemble chair caning or wall paper seen through the drippy, vaporous haze of a moist shower door. In the middle register, rendered over a chalky white ground, Verhoeven paints an enormous lobed pod that suggests a giant spore, a weapon or a distant relative to the Goodyear blimp. (Tokoro Gallery, 320 N. Robertson Blvd. to Feb. 28.)