LA CIENEGA AREA

It seems there’s a new Ism stalking the art world. Supermannerism is the name of the latest viral strain and, according to Klaus Ottman who coined the term, it is “an expression of the infantile state of Postmodern art and refers to the initial mimesis of the birth of the world.” Sounds good so far.

Work by Nina Beaty, a practicing member of the Supermannerist congregation, is considerably tamer than one might expect in light of the hysterical rhetoric that trumpets the arrival of this new school. In fact, her work--which is essentially biomorphic abstraction--is steeped in tradition and owes a considerable debt to Carl Jung. It’s also rather graceful, favoring the warm, muted palette and dignified composition of Diebenkorn. The strongest pictures in the show might be described as metaphysical landscapes; one composition involves an open oyster shell on a beach surrounding a white body of water, above which hovers a large, luminous pearl. It’s a soft, dreamy painting, and, like the show as a whole, it exerts a peculiar soporific effect.

Also on view are drawings and collages by Vahe Fattal that have the concise elegance of haiku poetry. Fattal has an exceptionally discreet touch and he pares drawing down to the bone in these fragile graphite works, many of which amount to no more than a sensitively blurred scribble. (Davies Long Gallery, 8906 Melrose Ave., to July 26.)