Using clay-based paint, Mokha Laget crafted a series of geometric abstractions that gravitate between non-objective and objective interpretations. Laget's triangular wedge forms, tapering to a point at one end and opening wide at the other, draw the eye in a multitude of directions, right out of the picture frame, presenting an interplay of architectural forms in space without use of any actual explicit references. The surface treatment in her work has a matte, velvety texture enhanced through the use of clay pigments. Some colors sink into the canvas and others pop out.

Laget represents a direct lineage from the Washington Color School, active in the D.C. area from the late 1950s and through the 1960s. Beyond that, Laget's paintings implement an impressionist palette, inspired by the North African landscape in which she grew up. Her latest paintings are also impacted by her move to the American Southwest, with colors drawn from the region's striking color and light.

Mokha Laget was born in Algeria and spent her early life in North Africa, France and the United States. Her educational background includes coursework in philosophy and anthropology, a bachelor in fine arts from the Corcoran School of Art, a postgraduate degree from the School of Linguistics at Georgetown University and graduate work in museum studies from UC Hayward. She has exhibited widely in national settings as well as in Europe, worked as an independent curator, and is a published translator and poet. Laget currently lives and works in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

On view through Nov. 1.