Paintings in a Series That Stand on Their Own

Most painters work in series, making adjustments that build from one canvas to the next until some kind of resolution is reached. A consistent body of work usually results.

Louise Fishman does not work this way, which is especially rare for an abstract painter. The 63-year-old New Yorker approaches each painting as if it were an entirely new experience. She succeeds in creating loosely gestural works that stand apart from those that immediately precede them and those that follow.

While the radically individuated nature of Fishman’s oeuvre doubtlessly keeps her on her toes, it will confuse viewers who think art must follow a logical progression to get anywhere. At Manny Silverman Gallery, Fishman’s first solo show in Los Angeles goes a long way to put these reservations to rest. Her 10 oils on linen take you places, but not in any sort of step-by-step sequence.

Fishman, an intuitive painter who isn’t afraid to push paint around until something gels, leaves a lot of evidence of the labor that goes into each piece. “The Sunrise Ruby” looks as if it had been scraped and scratched together out of nothing but dirt, dust and sweat. “Troubles Overcome Are Good to Tell” appears to be conjured from the morning mists that rise off a mountain lake. And “Casa Cenote,” which seems to move as you scan its active surface, has the presence of two or three translucent paintings superimposed atop one another.

Despite the density of visual incidents Fishman compresses into each painting, none feels tortured, crowded or fussed over. Generous to the core, they redeem the labor of their making by giving physical form to spaces that exist only in your imagination.

Manny Silverman Gallery, 619 N. Almont Drive, West Hollywood. (310) 659-8256. Through June 1; closed Sundays and Mondays.