WILSHIRE CENTER

A pairing of Bob Privitt’s painted metal sculpture and Sonia S. Hahn’s works on paper presents two opposing sensibilities linked by a sense of design. Privitt’s work dominates by means of size, bright red color and spatial clarity. Working in the tradition of David Smith, he composes sprightly, open forms of I-beams, cylinders, arcs and an occasional ruffly accent. In each, a splashily patterned disc contrasts with larger red volumes. This is competent, admirably decisive work concerned with precarious balance and making a heavy material yield airy-looking products. Unfortunately, the art aims to please with stylishness. In doing so, it sacrifices expressiveness for attractive design.

Hahn’s work teeters between gentle sensitivity and weak confusion as she explores the familiar terrain of collage-like abstraction. In pale monotypes and paintings on paper, she overlays patches of texture and soft color, often suggesting muzzy landscapes. (James Turcotte Gallery, 3517 West 6th St., to March 30.)