Santa Monica

For his first local one-man show, sculptor Karl Matson presents 10 life-size tableaux involving emotionally loaded objects--weapons, sports equipment, books and such. A few of the works are intended as homages to Matson’s heroes--”Trophy for Robert Rauschenberg From a Conversation With Barbara Rose,” for instance, is an assemblage of beer bottles, paint brushes and books, while “Broom for Joseph Beuys” combines a pair of boots, a broom and a jar of yellow fluid (probably fat). Most of the pieces, however, address global issues and come off as the efforts of a committed pacifist who makes his point through understatement.

“Central American Narrative,” composed of a chair, a pair of handcuffs and a pillow, gives off the acrid scent of torture, while “Top Gun: F-15 For Alice” is a fragile aluminum flying machine collapsed in a heap. Matson’s heart is in the right place, but it’s hard to take too many of these pieces in a row. En masse, they’re as depressing as the evening news. (Meyers/Bloom Gallery, 2112 Broadway, to July 8.)