Sharon Mizota reviews the exhibition of new work by Lesley Vance at David Kordansky Gallery, Los Angeles, on view through January 4, 2014.

Mizota writes that Vance "makes the kind of small, abstract paintings that would be easy to dismiss if they weren’t so solid, so alive… The paintings continually flirt with recognition, suggesting a body part here, a wisp of smoke there, but these references flit by as if animated and the works continue to elude apprehension. They seem to be endlessly interesting. This is due in part to their engagement with art history. Many of Vance’s curvilinear forms recall the heft and creaminess of a Georgia O’Keeffe skull, as well as her fine understanding of its brittle edges. Cubism, with its cacophony of irresolvable visual angles is also a touchstone, as are the dreamy, liquid spaces of Surrealism."