Santa Monica

The word lumen, a Latin term meaning light, eye or opening, appears in the title of many of Deanne Belinkoff’s paintings, which take light as their central subject. Belinkoff interprets light as a vehicle for integrating intellect and intuition, and she makes it the focal point of her geometric abstractions by using it sparingly. Dark masses hum with coronas of illumination and shafts of it shoot out of black surfaces as light struggles to triumph over enveloping darkness.

Applying graphite and powdered metals onto canvases iced with a thin layer of plaster, Belinkoff seems to burn her compositions deeply into the surface, and at a glance her paintings have the appearance of dark, ominous caves. (It takes some looking to detect the light that dances within them.) Incorporating symbols and forms associated with ancient, sacred architecture, her work shimmers with a touch of sorcery evocative of work by Eric Orr, an artist who shares Belinkoff’s fondness for gold leaf. You could apply gold leaf to a slice of Wonder Bread and it would light up with alchemical possibilities, and it certainly works its magic in these handsome metaphors of the struggle for enlightenment.

Also on view are Abstract Expressionist works by Hoon Kwak that explore the Oriental concepts of Li and Chi (symbols representing the duality of dynamic vs. static). Working with acrylic on laminated rice paper, Kwak paints with a loose, juicy touch and punctuates his electrified fields of color with spinning tops and shamanistic witches’ sticks. Like Belinkoff, Kwak is essentially exploring the notion of balance as a form of wisdom. (Karl Bornstein Gallery, 1658 1/2 10th St., to Feb. 4.)