Locomotion – Lasso 4 – 1990 – Large-Scale Abstract Painting – John Millei

A commanding presence at eight feet square, this large-scale abstract painting by Los Angeles-based artist John Millei is one of four works in his “Lasso” series, executed in 1990 during a pivotal period in his mature practice. The composition is built from looping, ribbon-like forms rendered in a tonal range of white, gray, and near-black against a warm umber ground. The gestural lines coil and layer across the canvas in overlapping horizontal cascades that suggest both kinetic energy and meditative rhythm. The surface carries visible texture throughout, the result of oil and acrylic emulsion worked over a gesso-primed canvas, lending the piece a material complexity that photographs only partially convey.

Provenance is well-documented: the reverse bears the artist’s hand-inscribed notation: title, medium, dimensions, and date in pencil on the canvas. An Ace Gallery Los Angeles label is present (5514 Wilshire Blvd) with inventory number SH11/LN4, confirming original gallery representation.