Wilshire Center

The Abstract Expressionist Theodoros Stamos began his “Infinity Field” paintings in the late ‘60s, and the basic approach of applying large, thinly brushed expanses of delicately modulated color to the canvas has remained fruitful for him. In work from the ‘70s and ‘80s, he focuses on trios of contiguous shapes that somewhat resemble geographic areas on a map, their contours shaped by the encroaching movements of the sea--or in this case, soft licks of background color.

In a painting from the “Jerusalem Series,” a blue field contains moss-green and chalky white territories linked by a broad purple continent with faint white markings. (In the “Jericho” series, these will-o’-the-wisps seem more full-bodied, looking rather like Hebrew lettering.)

Color reminiscent in its subtlety of Milton Avery’s distinctive blends usually holds the eye over long stretches of turf in these works. The sparkle of a substantial passage of blue in a painting from the “Lefkada” series comes from the grid of bright green brush strokes that pulses underneath. (Jack Rutberg Gallery, 357 N. La Brea Ave., to June 30.)