IF POP SURREALISM AND LOW-BROW ARTISTS SHARE A SINGLE TRAIT, it might be a talent for shaking things up. Tim Biskup, whose solo exhibition, Ether, opens Saturday night at Billy Shire Fine Arts, is one who seems to be in constant motion. He moves between mediums, motifs and motives with acrobatic ease. Known for cheerful, non-figurative abstractions in a mid-century modernista style as well as for his fun vinyl monster figures, he has also done carved-and-painted wooden sculptures, serigraphs and a poker deck.

The work he will unveil Saturday night is a departure. A suite of 24 paintings conjure up a dark mysterious world that suggests psychic terrorism. Titles and messages within the paintings speak of a gothic underworld of nightmarish events, including Fight or Die, Burning, Something's Wrong, and Black Butcher. Below: Three paintings from Ether.

Biskup says that he created this world of doom as a response to troubles in his personal life. "Things seemed to be falling apart and I was terrified," he said. "I was a little shocked, frankly, when I painted the first few, but they looked how I was feeling."

Here, monsters consort with unclad maidens. One female figure has survived some sort of blood-bath. Another issues a howl you can almost hear. The subdued palette of the paintings, done in Gel-Vinyl acrylics on wood panel, are thrown into relief by firey reds and fluorescent blues. The installation features a massive fiberglass and steel sculpture, bronze and vinyl figures, and a series of new prints. There will also be a sound element to the show that Biskup claims may require earplugs. For information: 323-297-0600.