Peter Halley's Shaped Canvases at Karma Los Angeles Reconfigure Geometric Motifs

Peter Halley presents ten new paintings from 2022 at Karma's Los Angeles gallery, on view through March 4. The exhibition features shaped canvases that reconfigure his signature geometric motifs of conduits and prison cells, drawing visual comparisons to Memphis-style furniture and video games like Tetris and Tricky Towers. Notably, the conduits have been removed, shifting the focus to the structural assembly of the paintings themselves. While some works appear top-heavy or levitating, they maintain a sense of balance despite flamboyant colors and configurations. The paintings' titles reference recent mainstream films such as 'Babylon,' 'End of the Road,' and 'Slumberland.' Two specific works, 'Brazen' and 'White Noise,' forgo the cell imagery entirely, employing squares and rectangles in solid colors, including Halley's classic Roll-A-Tex paint. These pieces extend the artist's exploration of architectural and social circulation and containment into the legacy of monochromatic painting. The show highlights Halley's ongoing evolution from his 1980s work, where he shifted titles from pieces like 'Black Cell with Conduit' (1986) to 'Teen Dream' (1992), demonstrating his ability to move beyond geometric painting's perceived limitations.