No menace in these dull abstracts

The shine has gone out of Steven Gontarski's sculpture, both literally and figuratively. Those glossy plastic-coated humanoids that Gontarski produced for the best part of a decade, which exuded a faintly menacing air, have been replaced by dully abstract works.

Although these bear a passing resemblance to bone fragments that have been twisted and stretched into improbable shapes, the element of sci-fi fantasy that injected a bit of fun into his previous work has disappeared.

The bone-like structures sit uniformly on high plinths and their looping curves are supported by thin metal rods. Dripping red paint has been applied to a couple of them but, rather than resembling blood, the red is a rather unconvincing shade. Its chemical luminosity certainly wouldn't pass muster in a special effects department.

Elsewhere, glass globes have been arranged on two low plinths, one plinth arranged with clear glass, the other arranged with glass in a shade of smoky grey. The work obviously suggests an interest in the body's biological structures but doesn't really add up to anything beyond the sum of its odd parts.

Gontarski might have done better by sticking to his spooky crew of extra-terrestrials.

Steven Gontarski
Gimpel Fils
30 Davies Street
W1