Zachary Royer Scholz reviews Erin Lawlor: Four Paintings: London Fields at George Lawson Gallery, San Francisco, on view through March 21, 2015.

Scholz writes: "The word gestural comes to mind when looking at Lawlor’s wide, flowing sweeps of paint, but the cumulative effect is more inevitable than personal, like the gradual impact of erosion or the incremental growth of a tree. The pieces are all oil on canvas, but the paint has been so intensely thinned with clear spirits that the surfaces are chalky, matte, and light-absorbing, producing a tension with the wet, flowing brushwork and causing the remarkably intense colors to at first seem muted."