Looking Pence-ive

Whew! It’s triple-digits temps again and you’re melting in downtown Davis. Duck inside the Pence Gallery at 212 D Street, get cooled off and enjoy the art.

Downstairs, Slightly Larger holds court until August 27, with compact work by Yolo county artists. It’s an intriguing mix that includes Colby Claycomb’s “Think Box,” an unglazed ceramic cube offering squinty eyes, and noses and lips all squished up as if pressed against an invisible window, and Gregory Humphries’ mixed-media “Between Red and Violet,” a coupling of art and science. You have to work to see the text on electromagnetic fields and wavelengths, competing with your own reflection on little mirrors inside and on the glass holding it all in.

Upstairs, Randy Brennan: Eclectic focuses on one Sacramento artist through August 24. Brennan’s bright color (heavy on the red), flattened perspective and cubistic leanings all reveal a strong Spanish influence. It’s no wonder, since Brennan just returned from a fellowship in Barcelona. His “Gatherings,” an acrylic on canvas, offers a festive table, but in a perspective commonly associated with Middle Eastern and Indian miniature painting. Wine goblets, chairs and plates, all outlined in black, enhance the absence of depth and draw out the cubistic delineation of simple forms like cups or the legs of chairs. Brennan’s “Guitar,” a simple mixed-media piece, is highly reminiscent of Picasso’s early style.

On your way out, don’t miss Delta Landscapes: Saghafi & Janitsky, up until August 20. It’s fun to compare Andre Janitsky’s Albert Bierstadt-like oil painting of “Liberty Island” with Mehdi Saghafi’s panoramic photo of the same area, hanging just above it. For more information call (530) 758-3370.