Oil versus water equals what?

This month’s offerings at b. sakata garo offer a dichotomy of sorts. Japanese watercolorist Noriko Hasegawa’s 16 large, often photo-real studies of inanimate objects—bowls, chairs, davenports or chesterfields—are roomy, well illuminated and quite calming to drink in. By contrast, a number of oils—33, for those of you interested in numerology with Masonic significance—by local painter Jason Ogden, whose father Jack taught at CSUS for a number of years, are quite vibrant; figures, generally eccentric in the technical sense, hunker toward corners or move out of the frames, their brushstrokes quivering with the kind of expectant lurch that does not inspire quietude in household pets or small children. These can be viewed at the gallery at 923 20th St., open Tuesday-Saturday noon until 6 p.m., through June 29; for more info, call 447-4276.