LA CIENEGA AREA

In his L.A. gallery debut John Torreano evokes the spirit of a punker in a bed-sitter dreaming of outer space. The artist shows some 20 pieces, mainly wood sculpture shaped like cut gems inset with twinkly glass jewels. They reflect punk-style love of trashy artificiality and the kitsch romance of “Raiders of the Lost Ark.” At the same moment, the size and shape of the faceted sculpture trigger associations with space probes floating through the galaxies, an impression underlined by several painted, encrusted plywood panels.

Torreano, who is in his mid-40s and has shown in New York and the Midwest, does a good job of calling up one of the genii of the contemporary sensibility. Trouble is, the work is so thin in substance and short on originality that it looks like a collection of props from a science-fantasy film. (Margo Leavin Gallery, 812 N. Robertson Blvd., to April 12.)