La Cienega Area

The grand style of Cubism a la Juan Gris and early Picasso has been exhumed by Dan Connally in a happier, lighter palette but with all the de rigueur ingredients: disappearing fragments of accordion fans moving in and out of a limited depth, hints of wine goblets, an isolated ear amid the jumbled hints of still-life objects and what could be read as musical instruments. This is not an copycat rip off. Connally brings a good deal of technical control and genuine passion to the pieces, but the most satisfying one, a huge, hollowed peanut shape pressed against a frothy expanse of primordial sky, has a scope and presence that the other paintings lack. (Simard & Halm, 665 N. La Cienega Blvd., to Feb. 6.)