Wilshire Center

Edward Glauder’s figurative bronzes are admirable in conventional ways. Neither likenesses nor abstractions, his female nudes capture the spirit of flesh, express a wide range of movement, present complex forms in the round and offer striking silhouettes. A headless figure swings one foot up behind her, clasping her ankle with a hand. Another hugs her knees to her forehead while rolling on her back.

Imperfectly finished and believably human, these sculptures are the work of an artist who eschews representation and emotion for pure form. But in art that looks as traditional as this, it isn’t easy to cast off the weight of history and all the ceremonial meanings that have been ascribed to bronze. Nor is it simple to distinguish oneself without courting disaster. Glauder seems content to do good work and make no waves. He only appears confused when he introduces stylized details of anatomy into fleshy terrain--a sharp V shape along a standing nude’s spine, creases on calves or oddly flattened thighs. (Jack Rutberg Gallery, 357 N. La Brea Ave., to April 16.)