Grupo Gennaio The "January Group" of the show's title includes Gallery Urbis Orbis co-owner Alan Brunettin, along with local artists Jenna Bauer, Stephen Cook, Daniel Jefferson and MeloBruno, who turn in some vivid, muscular canvases. Cook's stark Robert #1 faces the street and gives a hint of the expressionist leaning of the works inside. Recent works by MeloBruno recall distinct moments of Jackson Pollock's works (and they were evidently done on the floor, like Pollock's; shoeprints abound). Brunettin seems enthralled with electric energy, making it a leitmotif of works such as Power Grid. Jenna Bauer's two Untitled Gesture prints are a bit too calm amid these riotous canvases -- but then a little relief from the fray isn't a bad thing. Through January 30 at Gallery Urbis Orbis, 419 North Tenth Street; 314-406-5778. Gallery hours 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Tue.-Thu., noon-7 p.m. Fri., 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sat., and by appointment.
Yoshitomo Nara: Nothing Ever Happens Thank goodness for the Contemporary, which can always be counted on to provide much-needed subversion and humor just when things in the world seem their bleakest. Nara knows all about twisted humor: His angry kid characters adorn paper, sculpture and oversize dinner plates and complain about the most banal contemporary ills. They smoke, curse and laze around in that irresistible "superflat" way. Couple this with a look at Laylah Ali's absolutely surreal cartoon drawings and local artist Danny Yahav- Brown's animated plastic grocery bags, "And Then They Danced," and you've got an afternoon chock-full of revelations and rowdy good fun. Through February 27 at the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, 3750 Washington Boulevard; 314-535-4660. Museum hours 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tue.-Sun. (open Thu. till 7 p.m. and Sun. till 4 p.m.).
Traditions Transformed: Murrini Glass Artists Sam Stang returns to St. Louis from his Augusta glass studio to curate a show about something he knows well: the murrini technique, which employs cross sections of colorful glass rods fused together to create vibrant, colorful patterns. The eighteen artists shown here work in Italy, Japan and the U.S., and the range of murrini approaches is startling. Stangs own trademark bowls and vases are of course on hand, along with dozens of dazzling surprises. Ro Pursers glass orbs hold objects and painted scenes in suspended animation; Ralph Mossmans technique results in tiny pixels of color that float in clear glass; and Laura Pesce and Peter Secrest are represented by substantial wall pieces. The works here range from gigantic to tiny in scale, and from opaque to milky to translucent in character. They attest to the incredible versatility of glass as a medium -- in the proper hands, of course. Through March 6 at Craft Alliance, 6640 Delmar Boulevard, University City; 314-725-1177. Gallery hours 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon.-Wed., 10 a.m.- 8 p.m. Thu.-Fri., 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sat. and noon-6 p.m. Sun.
Victorian Photographs of Rural England: Benjamin Brecknell Turner The title sounds about as exciting as clotted cream, but the exhibition is actually quite lovely. Working in England in the mid-19th century, Turner used Henry Fox Talbot's calotype method to produce a paper negative and a contact-printed positive, resulting in softly toned, gloriously detailed images. On view are dozens of images from Turner's Photographic Views From Nature (1852-54), including views of the Crystal Palace, his family's property at Bredicot Court and utterly romantic scenes of Gothic ruins and windmills. Through February 6 at the Saint Louis Art Museum, 1 Fine Arts Drive; 314-721-0072. Museum hours 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tue.-Sun. (open Fri. till 9 p.m.). -- Ivy Cooper
