WILSHIRE CENTER

Formerly a sculptor, Stephan McKeown constructs three-dimensional paintings that tap into a trick of the memory we all fall prey to, namely, experiencing nostalgia for past events that were in reality horrible. McKeown’s central theme here is war--World War II in particular--and he renders his subject with the same Saturday Evening Post cheerfulness that David Lynch used so effectively in “Blue Velvet.” The world McKeown shows us is clearly in a state of siege, yet things look so correct and under control that we’re ready to accept them as the proper course of events. Depicted as an arena for heroism rather that the pit of death that it actually is, this is a master propagandist’s vision of war--and McKeown’s haunting tableaux reveal the lie for exactly that.

Favoring a muted palette that makes sparing use of color, McKeown imbues his paintings with a photographic quality that underscores their veneer of believability. We see a nighttime scene shrouded in darkness and pierced by a shaft of green light in “The Green Flare, “ which resembles a crude photograph made with a pinhole camera. A number of works give us the point of view of bomber pilots as they look down on stretches of freshly bombed countryside bursting into flames. Aerial maps, a horizon as seen through the sight of a gun, attempted rescues are softened and romanticized just enough so that we can let them in--and perhaps become a little clearer on how truly tragic they are. Though much is made of the craftsmanship that goes into McKeown’s impeccably assembled tableaux, the thematic content is what’s really noteworthy about this work. (Ovsey Gallery, 126 N. La Brea Ave., to April 24.)