LA CIENEGA AREA

Ralph Gilbert’s paintings and monotypes conjure a topsy-turvy realm where figures melt into one another as they’re assailed by apparitions. In “Vigil,” an incubus hovers over a blue figure in a deep sleep; an insomniac cowers before the demons of his subconscious in “Sleepless Nights.” Employing flat, blocky composition evocative of Balthus, Gilbert’s paintings are superior to his Fauvist flavored painted monotypes, which are usually long, narrow, vertical rectangles containing two conflicting elements. Snarling dogs, lions poised to pounce, mysterious feline women--in Gilbert’s world everyone seems to be fleeing or lurking. (Marilyn Pink, 760 N. La Cienega Blvd., to Oct. 4.)