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24 West 57th Street, thru 4/8) is similarly a master of her medium, in this case elaborately-worked elegant reliefs, sculpture and jewelry combining crushed metals and silk cord whose softness effectively contrasts with the shiny hard metals. Complexity, intricacy and a proliferation of detail so great as to suggest the overabundance of horror vacui, characterizes the work of all three. And in all three cases, the obsession with minutiae accounts for both the fascination as well as the limitation of the work. Colossal Scale at the Sidney Janis gallery (6 West 57th Street, thru 4/1) is another gimmick show; but this time the gimmick, "the appeal of the gigantic representational image for today's artist," to quote the catalogue, is an interesting one. There is a grab-bag of Surrealist and Super-Realist art, establishing their connection - as if anybody doubted that "sharp-focus" Super-Realism were anything other than the seventies' version of Magic Realism, America's own homegrown brand of buckeye Surrealism that flourished during the thirties and forties. At William Zierler (956 Madison Avenue, thru 4/1), Alvin Loving has taken his shaped canvases off their stretchers and introduced some interesting illusionistic effects by using shading, and reversing some of his odd geometric trapezoids so that they appear to be folded over into the painting. So many artists, most of them following Alan Shields and Sam Gilliam, are just hanging their canvases from the wall that we might ask what such a development means. By freeing their canvases from rigid stretchers, painters emphasize the literal properties of canvas, leaving themselves free to experiment with types of illusionism the normally stretched canvases would preclude because they would be taken as depicting actual depth - something no self-respecting modernist painter can do without in some way contradicting such an illusion. Consciousness regarding the literal property of materials as well as the need to subvert illusion so that two dimensions can never be interpreted by the eye as three are apparently requisites of advanced painting today. Removing the canvas from its stretcher is one way of having your literalism without giving up your illusionism. It is an appealing solution - doubly appealing because it is so easy - and it attracts new young convers every day. But I question the ability of such paintings to remain pictorial statements. Attractive as I find them, ultimately they seem to me to belong to the category of banners and decorative wall-hanging rather than to the category of the pictorial. Where to eat in the jungle. [[Image]] Even its severest critics have to admit one singular advantage of this jungle over any other: yo matter where you are, you're seldom further than a coconut's throw from a great restaurant. And one way to make sure you'll have a great meal is to let the American Express Money Card shield by your native guide. It'll take you to places like this: Pamplona 822 Ave. of the Americas. 683-4242. Excellent Spanish cookery. Zarzuela de maresco and tournados are specialties. President Restaurant 370 Lexington Ave. MU 3-5555. Beautiful Colonial decor. Feathering steaks, chops, and seafood. 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Orsini's 41 W. 56th St. PL 7-1698. Elegant Italian dining. Upstairs like an Italian courtyard. Downstairs romantic and intimate. Romeo Salta 30 W. 56th St. 246-5772. Author of the cookbook The Pleasures of Italian Cooking. Elgant private banquest room. Japan Kobe Steak House 145 W. 49th St. CI 4-0094 or 765-3146. Featuring the Hibachi Steak prepared by master showmen. La Potinière Du Soir Restaurant Francais, 47 W. 55th St. 245-4266. Well Known for Crepe Potiniere Du Soir stuffed with crabmeat. La Toque Blanche 359 E.50th St.PL 5-3552. Colorful charming setting with murals of Provincial France. Excellent French food. Le Cygne 53 E. 54th St. Pl 9-5941. For the connoisseur of out-standing French Cuisine, this restaurant is a must. Dewey Wong's 206 E. 58th St. 758-6881. Dine in luxurious surroundings with your host Dewey Wong in complete command. King Dragon 1273 3rd Ave. At 73rd Street. YU 8-3433. This beautiful and intimate house of quality food is for the epicurean. Open daily. Chateau Henri IV 37 E. 64th St. 737-8818. Lavish castle-like decor. Superb cuisine. Excellent wine list Open 7 days a week. Sun. at 5. Le Soufflé 37 W. 64th St. 874-7781. Small, intimate Parisian restaurant. A la carte menu. Lunch on Friday only. Open 5.30 p.m.- midnight. American Express The Money Card
