Earl Staley’s recent exhibition consisted of paintings devoted mainly to Greek myths—the well-known Orpheus and Narcissus stories as well as the lesser-known politico-religious tale of Bellerophon—with the remaining work cast to the ambiguous winds of grotesquerie and nature. It does not seem so long ago that the use of mythological or allegorical themes struck most observers as a risky act of packing one’s art in ancient luggage too worn and heavy for modern travel. During the last decade, however, Staley has consistently put the lie to that stubbornly Modernist notion, and currently he has a