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Reinhardt Feb 62 L.A.

Los Angeles Times

In the Galleries
Exhibit Boasts Some of Europe's Finest Selections
By Henry J. Seldis

An impressive assemblage of modern masters from many lands is on display at the Dalzell Hatfield Gallery.

Among the substantial works put on sale by the veteran dealer from recent European acquisitions is a really superior work by the German expressionist Macke, a saucy Matisse, an important Pechstein still life, a very fine Rouault, "vintage" Vlaminck, a typical Jawlensky "mask" and several fine bronzes by Sir Jacob Epstein to whose work the next Hatfield exhibition will be devoted. The display continues to Feb. 17.

Sculptor Reflects Superior Artistry

In an astonishing variety of ways, Robert Bassler demonstrates his superior artistry and craftsmanship in his current one - man show at the Comara Gallery. 

Whether he deals with the figure in a very personal, semi-abstract way, with forcefully inventive wooden forms or with welded metal salvaged from the ruins of his family's home burned in the Bel-Air fire, this extremely gifted and sensitive sculptor reflects a respect for his material and an insight into its potential transformation not often found in so young an artist. Like the Phoenix, the sculptures he assembled from parts charred and twisted by fire and the photographs of crumbling walls and burnished textures are symbols of affirmation rather than defeat, though they must have cost the artist much anguish. 

Even his smallest pieces like the graceful "Thistles" have an aspect of monumentality. Bassler is rapidly joining the ranks of our most promising artists. 

Reinhardt Canvases Worth Second Look

The nearly monochromatic works by Ad Reinhardt now at the Dwan Gallery invite contemplation, as do the more legible works by John McLaughlin at the Landau Gallery.

You have to look hard for Reinhardt's rectilinear forms on the rich black canvases, and the lighting of the show is most inadequate. But these are not the work of a nihilist nor that of a flippant opportunist like Yves Klein. They are the considered expressions of an iconoclastic artist worth repeated viewing in an attempt to penetrate them. 

Landscape Artist Dynamic Colorist

Douglas Snow translates landscape elements into an expressionistic idiom of his own, to judge by his show at the Feingarten Galleries. 

His handling of color and form is dynamic and basically romantic though there is a certain redundancy in many of his canvases. "Dester Landscape" and "Orange Field" are the most successful pictures in this fairly impressive exhibition. 

New Depths Found in Poetic Imagist

The seemingly ephemeral images found in the paintings of Vincenzo Frunzo, now at the Silvan Simone Gallery to Feb. 22., become insistent and characteristic  to the persistent viewer. The texture of ancient walls, blue skies and churning seas are captured by this poetic painter with a directness and an atmospheric involvement that marks him as one of the most remarkable contemporary Italian artists.