LA CIENEGA AREA

Larry Rivers tells all in an exhibition of relief paintings: What he did in 1958, how he imagines Matisse in 1924, his attitude on parenting, how he compiles visual information and draws models in his studio, and which artworks inspire him--a nightmarish Max Ernst collage and a Utamaro woodcut of Japanese women.

The New York artist carries out these themes by building reliefs, beginning with a flat oil-on-canvas painting and eventually cutting it up and attaching the pieces to high-relief foam-core surfaces. This odd technique makes sense for an artist who has long constructed pictures of fragments or created paintings that segue from representation to abstraction and look unfinished. The scrapbook-like aesthetic also suits his current memory pieces.

Educated at Juilliard and employed as a saxophonist before he plunged into the art world in the heyday of Abstract Expressionism, Rivers is known as a bridge between De Kooning and Rauschenberg and a precursor of Pop art. It’s wonderful to have a big show of his recent work here--after a couple of decades of absence--but the work is problematic. Despite Rivers’ virtuosity as a draftsman and his skill in organizing panoramic spaces, he tends to come off as an illustrator and his work can fall quite flat emotionally. His autobiographical meanderings and his social conscience ring true but don’t always achieve the resonance of universal experience.

But let’s be fair: Rivers moves in such high circles that he is bound to suffer by comparison to his colleagues. If he isn’t a De Kooning or a Rauschenberg, he’s still a very good artist. To round out a spectacular year for contemporary art in Los Angeles, you really should see his two major works, “1924 and Matisse” and “Public/Private.” (Turner Gallery, 8000 Melrose Ave., to Jan. 3.)