Metallic, uh …

We’ve missed them over the summer and fall, and we bet you have, too. But those art mavens at the Pamela Skinner Gallery are back in business at 723 S Street, just around the corner from their old digs. (Theirs is the door at the end of the parking lot.) And what a place (about 2,200 square feet of display area, even more spacious than the last), with red brick, a high ceiling and four big movable walls.

Kicking off the first show in their new home, Aaron Petersen’s large oils on aluminum almost pop off the walls. The organic shapes in “Expansion” have an almost bubble-like flow to them, yet they exude sophistication. Some evolve into hovering jellyfish, others are icons similar to those you see when burning a computer disc. Petersen has layered the paint for a soft, atmospheric, voluminous depth; the movement and Chinese-red background evokes a Far Eastern influence. In “Anger Chain,” Petersen uses basically the same elements—round organic shapes, an atmospheric treatment of the background—but then he inserts a surrealistic touch, painting broken chunks of chain links that float in brown clouds.

Linda Raynsford, the mistress of metal, adds the three-dimensional punch to this show with her gleaming stainless-steel sculptures that capture and reflect light. Her free-standing three-feet-wide untitled disc, the shape of a big foil-wrapped Oreo, suggests ’60s minimalism, recalling architect-sculptor Tony Smith’s oversized geometric steel shapes. But Raynsford takes it further, embellishing the slick surface by etching the shiny steel: Frenetic, twisting and spiraling patterns dance all over the piece, charging it with energy. You’d think it was ready to roll away. Catch Raynsford’s sculptures and Petersen’s images until January 6, 2007. For more information call (916) 446-1786.