Known for huge paintings of sunsets, giant sculptures of dark sunglasses and other emblems of life in Los Angeles, Alex Israel continues to channel the allure of Hollywood and its environs with wave paintings and a fantasy street scene sculpture at Greene Naftali Gallery. Titled ‘Sunset Coast Drive,’ the 44-foot-long strip of fictional and real buildings includes Israel’s own studio at one end and his favorite burger place at the other. In the foreground of this photo, Israel revives a mural he painted on a building in Venice, CA before it was painted over. The rest of the gallery is dominated by vividly colored acrylic on fiberglass panels depicting crashing waves inspired by Hokusai and surfing logos. Their bright colors are alluring, but abstracted to the point of resembling reaching hands, the waves may be less innocuous than they first seem. (On view in Chelsea through June 25th).
