.

"I'll Start Again," installation view, 2009. Courtesy of Ratio 3, San Francisco.

Quotidian materials similar to those that have appeared throughout Mitzi Pederson's oeuvre dominate the work in this show. The works exhibit a unified sensibility, but are at times disjointed--succeeding only in fits and starts. The strongest pieces are the wall sculptures in the main space. In two of them, long sections of lathe are pulled into graceful arcs against nails by threads anchored to rectangular pieces of plywood. Another elegant work consists of a multi-stranded rectangle of thread stretched between four nails, over which a ribbon-like section of sand-coated wood-veneer has been draped like a towel. Constructed simply from wood, nails, and thread, these objects are playful like the work of Richard Tuttle and profound like the work of Fred Sandback.

The rest of the work in the show is less satisfying. The plywood and metal floor sculptures that sit leadenly on Ratio 3's deteriorated wooden floor echo the space's plank and plywood rawness, but lack oomph. The torqued door-skin sculptures that are displayed behind them exude more dynamism, but feel like maquettes rather than finished pieces. The smaller adjoining back room offers a strong series of small painted works on paper and a couple of interesting wall sculptures, but feels like a different exhibit by the same artist. Having thoroughly enjoyed Pederson's strong outing at UCLA's Hammer Museum earlier this year, I had high hopes for this solo show and so was a bit underwhelmed. Still, the poetry of its best moments makes this show well worth a visit.

Mitzi Pederson: "I'll Start Again" is on view at Ratio 3, San Francisco through October 24, 2009