I find it easy to get lost in a painting by Alex Dodge even if I’m not entirely certain what the subject matter is. The Brooklyn-based artist has for years been refining a distinct technique that produces mesmerizing works that dance between painting, sculpture, and textile — their surfaces ripple with busy and vividly colored painted patterns that seem to swath mysterious objects in various fabrics; thick gobs of paint cling to areas of the canvas as if squeezed out like thick frosting or Easy Cheese.

Dodge’s solo show Love May Fail, But Courtesy Will Prevail at Klaus Von Nichtssagend Gallery — his first New York one in six years — offers a chance to admire these visual rhythms and textures up close in a series of a dozen or so new paintings. When you do, the precision of his paint’s application is astonishing, with the edges of each layer forming crisply defined ridges. Read More