LA CIENEGA AREA

Painted wood bas-reliefs by San Francisco artist Stan Dann look like the work of an extremely ambitious wood-shop student. Cutesy-craftsy pictures that whistle with the unpretentious whimsicality of Red Grooms, this work’s connection with the Bay Area funk movement is easy to spot. Like sets for a Pop art puppet show, Dann’s 3-D dioramas have charm to burn, but their staying power is questionable.

Rooted in a pictorial space evocative of De Chirico’s adaptation of Cubist perspective, Dann’s tableaux often depict street corners or uninhabited interiors. The subject matter here, however, is invariably upstaged by technique. Each object--a chair, a coat, a rake--in these painstakingly crafted pictures is an independent component that fits together with other forms to create a perfect puzzle. Lacquered with bright folk-art colors, Dann’s tableaux feel like expensive homespun toys that might be featured on “Sesame Street.” (Ruth Bachofner Gallery, 804 N. La Cienega Blvd., to July 18.)