La Cienega

Cast paper is not the most thrilling of art media, but Japanese artist Shoici Ida gives it a fuller-bodied, meditative dimension in large-scale works from his “Well from Karma” series. The paper is made in holes dug in the earth, which accounts for the pervasive doeskin color of the pieces, the occasional presence of small pebbles and the clean circular depressions at the center of each one. Ida sometimes runs little trails of broken branches around the peripheries of the “wells” (in one piece, some roll out of their little slots to signify the passage of time) and frequently infuses gentle tinctures of rose, blue or green watercolor on the undersides of the pulp, which bleed into visible portion.

There is a certain ponderous quality about these works, however, with their dogged symmetry and ultra-precise, minimalist placement of form coupled with the garnish of the richly colored gauze fabric and kimono cuttings that serve as decorative backings. The most interesting pieces allow more ingredients into the pot, including the artist’s hand: Irregular ballpoint pen markings in “Descended Circle No. 14” and the concentric curved markings softly worked into the paper in “Between Water and Earth No. 12” offer more opportunities to demonstrate the twin impulses of chance and will. (Herbert Palmer Gallery, 802 N. La Cienega, to Dec. 31)