Wilshire Center

A Bow to Hitchcock: “Spellbound,” a group exhibition curated by Christian Leigh, is as vague and confusing a show as I have ever seen pulled together under a single premise. According to the small amount of information available, that is partly intentional. Leigh says he found in director Alfred Hitchcock’s films a model for uncompromising aesthetic discourse wrapped in the guise of storytelling. Leigh intended to use art in similar fashion.

But art cannot be carelessly spliced together in hopes of achieving some broad statement about aesthetics. An explanation of why each artist was selected or how each one fits into the discussion is needed. As it is, the list of artists is endless, each with a different ax to grind--formally and conceptually. There is a slight hint of a theme that probes the human body to explore the mind, but it’s too faint to follow.

The lack of direction makes the curator rather than the art the focus of the show. Even Hitchcock would find that a waste of good material. And some of it is good. Ray Smith’s painting, “Kid Mundro,” is a fascinating evolutionary nursery-room nightmare, and Alexis Rockman’s two-headed baby in “Fraises des Bois” is a surreal fantasy of dire implications and painterly invention. Tishan Hsu’s ceramic tiled public facility/X-ray viewing room is also intriguing. Other artists in the exhibit include Donald Baechler, Kevin Carter, James Croak, Robert Feintuch, Claudia Hart, Dennis Kardon, Jonathan Lasker, Rona Pondick, David Smith, Pat Steir, Gary Stephen, Elaine Sturtevant and Matthew Weinstein. (Marc Richards Gallery, 4847 W. Jefferson Blvd., to March 31.)