Abstract painting can be, for better or worse, as impenetrable as a secret code. Caroline Kent embraces this idea in the premise of her solo début at the Casey Kaplan gallery, “Proclamations from the Deep”: these big paintings, with matte-black backgrounds, feature floating constellations of colorful shapes whose scrambled geometries and broken cursive lines represent the communiqués of two fictional sisters, Victoria and Veronica, who converse using form rather than language. From a distance, the elements appear to be découpage—hard-edged but meandering, as if absent-mindedly cut with giant scissors. But, on closer inspection, the jagged silhouettes don’t seem random at all; instead, they obey an unknown logic. Underscoring this sense of hidden meaning and clear intention is a selection of sculptural elements, including a freestanding wooden column, etched with glyphlike symbols, that suggests a ritual purpose—perhaps the sisters’ Rosetta stone. (Kaplan; Sept. 9-Oct. 23.)

Published in the print edition of the October 18, 2021, issue.