Ruth Armer, whose works fill the large gallery, has ventured from nonobjective painting-collage into figurative landscape with only moderate success. A competent painter, long on the California scene, she lacks the deep psychological penetration that makes a show or a work discussable. In this exhibition her nonobjectives are her best works, especially those of the “400” series. James Malott’s rugged sculptures complement her work while drawing some attention to themselves. Lawrence Halprin, the landscape architect, shows naturegrams of the Sierra Nevada region in the Petite Gallery. Using ink and watercolor wash, he analyzes a lichen pattern, the cracks in a rock, or even a devastated area––be it a square inch or a square mile.
—E. M. Polley
