SANTA MONICA

L.A. sculptor Woods Davy hit upon a formula that showed strong commercial potential. Spare geometric steel structures embellished with clusters of rounded granite stones, Davy’s manageably large work looked great in city parks and collectors seemed to like it too. An exhibition of new work suggests that Davy isn’t about to kill the goose that laid the golden egg. In fact, he’s currently polishing that egg to a high gloss; this new work is so slick that it would look more at home in an issue of Casa Vogue than in an art magazine.

Formalist sculpture that looks to the East for inspiration, Davy’s work explores ideas of balance and the weight of objects in space, by freezing random occurrences of nature into angular tableaux. Heavy stones (affixed to steel beams finished to resemble wood) appear to float at eye level, and the initial hit the viewer gets is one of visual harmony. However, with a bit more looking one recognizes that despite their graceful pose, Davy’s work forces nature to submit to man’s idea of order--a considerably more rigid aesthetic indeed.

With titles like “Morongo,” “Cabazon,” and “Hemet,” Davy obviously had the desert in mind when he made these pieces, yet they’re not remotely harsh or raw enough to be evocative of the desert. Lush, serene, and cerebral, they reek of the Far East, and a number of them--”El Cahon” in particular--resemble altar pieces for a Shinto shrine. Tailor-made for the collectors market though they are, they have the integrity of floating Zen gardens. Wandering among them, one realizes that the only thing missing from this show is the sound of gurgling water. (Tortue Gallery, 2917 Santa Monica Blvd., to April 11.)