Rock ’em, sock ’em

The Toyroom Gallery has put together a show by three artists who complement each other with similar styles. The artists, who hail from as close as San Jose and as far away as Milwaukee, all have influences based in nostalgic advertising and cartoons. Robots rule in Gabe Lanza’s bright, flat compositions, which pull color references from old tin toys and packaging from the 1950s and 1960s. At first glance, Damon Belanger’s work looks like a panel from a comic strip with a bizarre narrative, leaving one to wonder what the back story was and what’s going to happen next. Dave Pressler is a renaissance kid, of sorts. Besides being an artist and puppeteer, his main line of work involves creating characters for Disney, Hasbro, The Jim Henson Co. and others, which take form in his paintings. The exhibition, titled The Smasho, runs this Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights from 6:30 p.m. until late. The Toyroom is located in the alley off 24th Street, at Second Avenue. Visit www.toyroomgallery.com or call (916) 457-5269 for info.