LA CIENEGA AREA

Jonathan White’s sculptures consist of concrete monoliths and boxes that have been smashed into fragments then reconstituted like a formal jigsaw puzzle. The resulting slabs are polished smooth but are so riddled with cracks and fissures that one is reminded as much of primeval relics as Zen-like transcendental objects.

Arranged singly or in triptychs, the works are either framed in steel (or steel with wood veneer) or completely free-standing. The former express vague feelings of containment and compactness, as if removal of the frame will lead to complete disintegration of the form. The latter are held together by concealed pins and epoxy, creating a fragility and sense of delicate balance that parallels some of the glass works of George Geyer. Equally important, however, seems to be White’s interest in the exactness of spatial proportion. By presenting many of the pieces as screens and “windows,” White is able to juggle positive and negative space both within and between each slab arrangement, in much the same way as Japanese sculptors such as Seiji Kunishima and Isamu Noguchi.

Although the exhibit exudes a certain amount of Minimalist presence, basking in the sheer “objectness” of each form, the work’s main shortcoming is that it is far too easy to rationalize. Any visual complexity is completely undercut by the spareness of concept and the subsuming of process to final form. It is the contradiction between such elements that gives work such as this its resonance, but in this case we are left with very little to work on. (Jeffrey Linden, 625 N. Almont Drive, to May 24.)