Long Beach

Peter Erskine does wall pieces with generous doses of gold that reach out to the nouveau riche collector’s heart. There are references to the infinite or the night sky or whatever, but come on, we weren’t born yesterday.

One of these objets is a long gold bar (“Slice of Heaven”) with a curving shadow pattern built into the surface. Another is a white rectangle (“Breathing Light”) bent into undulating ripples and inlaid with a grid of fine gold lines. Or how about a rippling gray rectangle studded with small, square flecks of gold in orderly, Minimalist-approved rows? At least here is a speck of the “sublime” that Erskine claims to be chasing: The curving troughs of shadow suggest a fancifully draped corner of the universe.

Not everything is gold. “Yin Yang No. 2” consists of two huge, interlocking, almost-diamond shapes with a mother-of-pearl glow and the familiar rippled surfaces. But it all tends to be too easy and too pretty.

Michael Hayden’s holographic acrylic pieces give everybody a bunch of private rainbows. The larger pieces are rather inconveniently mounted on big rectangular mirrors that reflect whatever happens to be on the ceiling. These works have variously configured acrylic components: graduated trestle-like pieces or angular snaking parts or a row of pyramids. More compact designs, on smaller round mirrors, feature an open cube shape and a balancing arrangement of pyramids.

It may well be that on a grand, public-art scale Hayden’s simple shapes and skillfully applied holography create architecturally resonant effects. But an aura of packaged goods hovers around these domestic versions. It’s hard to see what separates these one-of-a-kind and “limited edition” pieces from any other sort of expensive interior decoration. They seem little more than conversation pieces with a scientific pedigree. (The Works Gallery, 106 W. 3rd St., Long Beach, to Aug. 22.)