THE VALLEY

A rapturous restructuring of the solar system seems to occur in a suite of paintings by Pamela Mower-Conner. Seven modular panels that fit together to form a metaphysical landscape, the work continues to explore the visionary themes central to her previous work, yet there’s a distinct shift in mood here. Depicting a fantastic realm beyond the reach of time and gravity, the pictures breathe with a serenity that’s in marked contrast to the slightly morbid undercurrent that colored early work.

Having lost some psychic weight, Mower-Conner’s work is still extremely dense and she jam-packs it with magical creatures and symbols. Reptiles prowl the ruins of dead civilizations as a massive planet roiling with orange vapors passes through the sky; a crumbling pyramid is silhouetted against a blue heaven erupting with kaleidoscopic bursts of light, as a crouching figure examines a transparent stone.

Like most of the figures, this fellow appears to be in the process of metamorphosing into a new life form. We see, for instance, a male figure with skin patterned with a golden design, his hair like velvety strands of moss, and a young woman whose body is decomposing in the manner of aged porcelain. It’s a strange mural, but it’s also quite inspiring in terms of the vivid imagination that went into it. More important is its suggestion that one’s internal journey is the most exotic and liberating adventure available to us mortals.

Also on view are drawings and paintings in different styles by John Randolph Carter. Carter draws with a graphic touch evocative of Saul Steinberg, and, like Steinberg, his work is informed with a black humor that lends some teeth to what would otherwise come off as treacly illustrations for bizarre fairy tales. (Orlando Gallery, 14553 Ventura Blvd., to Dec. 31.)