Santa Monica

For those who missed the Daniel Martinez installation at the Santa Monica Museum of Art, he has assembled a variation of it in a much smaller gallery space. On an elevated table that takes up the gallery, Martinez crowds neat, symmetrical legions of mass-produced ceramic “fish men,” distorted, he says, by the “sheer weight of living.” He’s given the foot-high figures sharp, assaultive colors like gilt, black and bright red, surrounding them with enormous photos of peering eyes.

The small quarters of the gallery sometimes work against viewing, but in this case, the layout actually helps. Some may say this satellite show is an attempt to get too much mileage out of one idea, but in this smaller space, the mini-installation and grinding sound track (which does begin to grate on you after awhile) transmit the message of cramped, debilitating conformity with heightened impact. (B-1 Gallery, 2730 Main St., to Dec. 15.)