Aaron Garber-Maikovska engages in a painting practice where physicality cooperates with intuition. In “Valley Step,” his first exhibition at Massimo de Carlo’s Hong Kong gallery, Garber-Maikovska’s six featured compositions are born from the influences of the colors, life, and landscape of his home in Los Angeles. First applying a background to his canvas, the artist moves in with lively, irregular strokes that create a dark line—a sort of motif in the works on view. This is accompanied by erratic patches of layered color and bursts of markings which, when working together, create a field of emotion, movement, and life.