Mexican-born Salomòn Huerta studied and now lives in Los Angeles where Lari Pittman was an early mentor. He first came to international notice in the 2000 Whitney Biennial and is best known for his challenging paintings of seated figures or single heads (above, “Untitled head No.8”, 2001), all painted from behind and meticulously rendered against bright monochrome backgrounds. There is an almost perverse lack of personal detail given to these shave-headed individuals which become almost abstract as a result of their precise symmetrical placement. However lately Huerta has turned his attention to painting the simple, stucco houses that are so ubiquitous in Southern California, declaring that “I do not want to be pigeon-holed as the guy who paints heads”—both strains of his work are now on show at his first solo exhibition at Gagosian (until 30 January).