Surfacing

With the new year comes a new name for the gallery at 723 S Street. But there are no changes in the high caliber of work featured by Pamela Skinner/Gwenna Howard Contemporary Art, as evidenced by their first 2007 exhibit, the Introduction of Roseville artist Vernon Peasenell. His “I People,” a family of freestanding abstract figures, greets you as you enter. Don’t be fooled by the rusted patina of their seemingly heavy metal. The sculptures are really polymer and Styrofoam. Peasenell’s knack for manipulation of surface treatment re-emerges in “The Lost Shadow,” a large acrylic painting. Frenetic paint strokes in luminous gray frame a box shape on three sides. Inside, vertical maroon and brown strata are burnished and weathered, as if whipped by polishing winds during centuries of sandstorms. Look for new work, too, by gallery regulars Paule Dubois Dupuis and Graham Fracha, all up until February 3. Call (916) 446-1786 for more information.