Carren Jao reviews Juan Uslé: Entre Dos Lunas at L.A. Louver, Los Angeles, on view through July 6, 2013.

Jao writes: "The exhibition title translates to 'between two moons,' in homage to the painter’s experience gazing at two moons while standing on the Williamsburg Bridge, a structure itself straddling Manhattan and Brooklyn… In-betweenness is a state Usle is intimately familiar with, having divvied up his time from New York’s frenetic pace and northern Spain’s leisure… Sometimes, there is a tension in Usle’s work. In 'Sombra y Viajero,' Usle divides the canvas in half, filling the top with curvaceous lines layered over waves of color. At the bottom, his work becomes denser, with horizontal lines that suddenly dip and recover are layered over blue lines that form ever larger arcs. A solid line emerges from the top right toward the bottom section, bold and unwavering, as if in perpetual reach for the other side. It is an abstract journey from one state to another."