Architecture writ small at Lind

Former Bay Area artist Sarah Bostwick made a memorable debut at Gregory Lind Gallery a few years ago with low reliefs describing features of architecture and streetscape in all-white Hydrocal.

Color has invaded some of the recent work now on view, mostly to its detriment. When she paints parts of her reliefs, the effect on those familiar with her work may be like that of seeing the original color schemes restored to classical sculptures that live in our memories as pristine marbles.

The great exception is "San Francisco Pink and Green" (2008), a wall piece, hung near the ceiling, that plausibly renders a glance upward at the adjoining back staircases of San Francisco houses. The power of this piece resides in its scale, positioning and anamorphic distortion, which keep it hovering just beyond the literal. The rough elegance of its real structure obtrudes suddenly, willy-nilly, as you study it. And the almost unnameable hues Bostwick has chosen for the piece suit perfectly its wavering between description and abstraction.

• EXHIBITION: Sarah Bostwick - Landlord White