Holton Rower's 'Cutaways' Exhibition at Venus LA Explores Abstraction as Political Escape

Holton Rower's exhibition 'Cutaways' ran from 14 January to 24 February 2017 at Venus LA in Los Angeles. The show featured frenetic sculptures and wall panels that use thick layers of acrylic paint as a carvable medium. Rower's process involves knifing into cured paint to reveal sunken color layers, creating mollusk-like shapes with sophisticated color transitions from deep magentas to airy pinks. His geometric sculptural forms reference hard-edged formalism, distinct from Ken Price's sensuous shapes or Brancusi's influence. Works like 'Very Not Hallow' (2016) use dark bottom tones with rosy whites at the top to create visual lightness, while 'Helpless Champion Reference' employs a consistent midtone blue that renders the phallic form static. Wall panels such as 'More Than It Is' reference Hokusai's 'Great Wave off Kanagawa' (1829–32) but lack the dimensional presence of the sculptures. The exhibition was reviewed in the April 2017 issue of ArtReview, positioning Rower's work as an escapist response to political anxiety following the 2016 U.S. election. His approach champions abstraction's emotional power without direct politicization.