Wilshire Center

Positioned somewhere between de Stijl, Fernand Leger and the Twilight Zone, Mary Jones’ tight, classically orchestrated paintings combine flat horizontal and vertical bands in the saturated, matte colors of billboard art. Works like “The Stranger Fiction” capitalize on the inherent ability of different colors to pop out at us with different intensities; flat Mondrian grids take on the look of square pillars or cut-out props on an eerie shallow checkerboard stage.

On a small taut band of color, she suspends a dramatically shaded sphere that transforms the area into a pocket of endless space. Bands closest to the viewer are shaded to look like volumetric bars set in front an otherwise constructivist backdrop. The whole program thumbs a pristine nose at the idea that geometric abstraction must be rigorously one-dimensional to earn its stripes. (Ovsey Gallery, 126 N. La Brea Ave., to March 12.)--M.D.