Wilshire Center

An exhibition titled “Affinities” explores various ways the Oriental sensibility has affected western art, particularly that of L.A. Zen cowboys Ed Moses, Jim Hayward, Ken Price and Tony Berlant. Reductivist canvases by Hayward are said to be comparable to Zen meditations, and yes, I suppose these minimalist squares of heavily impastoed color (one per canvas) might operate that way. Berlant’s exotically colored found metal collages do resemble Japanese screens, (particularly in their effective use of black), and Ken Price’s enigmatic painted ceramic sculpture has obvious roots in organic ideas associated with Zen rock gardening. Moses’ work looks a bit wild for the Far East, but Moses is, in fact, a Buddhist. On view here are two transitional works from last year which bridge Moses’ tightly grided work of the past few years with the loose, highly expressive paintings that have recently gathered great acclaim. (April Sgro-Riddle Gallery, 836 N. La Brea Ave., to Dec. 31.)