Artist Richard Earl Leong Ralya, who grew up in Virginia and the San Francisco Bay area, works from the opposite direction of the artists in The ARTS at Marks Garage show "The Sun Never Sets." Four years ago, he moved to O'ahu — his parents' homeland — for the proverbial roots search.

In the process, he got back into painting after a five-year hiatus during which he focused on his graphic-design company Heavy Matter.

In his last solo show, "Book Two: A Willful Suspension of Misbelief," Ralya's paintings portrayed figures in flight, unanchored. Free birds or lost in limbo? The new "Book Three: Still," at thirtyninehotel through December, reveals a landing. The print, left (same title as the show), embodies all of Ralya's elements.

The seductive work includes a wall installation of urban views, while retaining Ralya's trademark lyrical, stylized waves.

"(The work) is starting to become more of a social statement," says Ralya. "It kind of marks a departure from strict personal exploration to an exploration of myself and interaction with the outside world." He thought about what's exciting him visually, "and its waves and overpasses."

When he sits in traffic, he stares at overpasses, which, "If you look at them closely, echo the lines of waves, but they're massive concrete structures."

He used concrete in his work, floating paper drawings on small blocks topped by Plexiglas. "They're heavy," says Ralya, and are hung from wood bars with vintage telephone wire.

"My grandmother had a roll of it. She's been storing it for like 50 years so she can rewrap the handle of her teapot." With the handle recently rewrapped, she offered the spool to her grandson.

Reach Lesa Griffith at lgriffith@honoluluadvertiser.com.