Greyhounds sprint in front of Frank Stella paintings; songbirds perch before Rothkos; a metallurgist pours glowing popcorn from a giant crucible: These are just a few goings-on in “All of the Above,” Ralph Allen Massey‘s entertaining painting show at bG Gallery. Eighty-one artworks, one for each year of the artist’s age and nearly all completed within the last few years, are arranged in loosely thematic salon-style clusters. A feeling akin to rummaging through a grab bag unfolds as you peruse the prolific octogenarian’s easel-sized panels painted with deadpan realism; you never know what you might find among his irreverent concoctions of subjects culled from the animal kingdom, popular culture, art history and vintage memorabilia. Massey’s studied technical fineness lends weight to his antic portrayals touching on issues ranging from destruction of nature to societal thirst for spectacle. By way of devices such as shaped panels and trompe l’oeil frames, his best pieces, such as This Critical Industry (2018, pictured above) and Girl Before a Mirror (after Picasso) (2013), cleverly exploit painting’s inherent artifice. A major motif is popcorn, which may be interpreted as a commentary on the Hollywoodish theatricality of everyday life in a culture adept at squeezing bankable entertainment out of the most mundane activities. At the opening reception, guests were served popcorn—a playful tie-in reminder that gallery shows are spectacle, too.

bG Gallery
3009 Ocean Park Blvd.
Santa Monica, CA 90405
Show runs through Jun. 9