Beverly Pepper‘s renown for large-scale outdoor sculptures makes her lesser-known small works seem particularly fresh and intimate. “New Particles from the Sun” features 25 modestly-sized indoor sculptures, mostly on pedestals, and a larger one in the courtyard at Kayne Griffin Corcoran. With aluminum, brass and steel assuming lively appearances of pliancy, these underscore the skill with which Pepper has manipulated metal since the dawn of her career. Having had no formal training in sculpture, she forged her own education by apprenticing in Italian metal mills—an intrepid undertaking as the only woman working in those factories. Early works in this show were produced while she developed her personal voice shortly after having learned to weld. Marked by experimental flair, pieces from 1952-1965 feature sweeping metal strips forming 3D line drawings midair. In Inner eye (1962), delicate ovals of steel and aluminum interlace as though dancing together in space. A later 1965 series intriguingly incorporates boxy shapes, bright lacquer and torch-lacerated textures. Passage of Night (1965, pictured above) resembles a sword inside a case; red paint and dripping splanchnic blobs piercingly evoke pain, blood and internal organs. Torch (1965) anachronistically resembles a deconstructed desktop computer screen. Several sculptures’ architectural feel presages the more expansive works for which Pepper later has come to be known. Throughout the show, steel appears sliced like bread, curled as ribbon, and ruffled into frothy sea foam, contorting into visual poetry shaped by Pepper’s skilled hands and strong will.

Kayne Griffin Corcoran
1201 South La Brea Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90019
Show runs through Mar. 9