AUTOEROTICA, East Bay Express Critics choice this week

EAST BAY EXPRESS

CRITIC'S CHOICE

AutoErotica

"Nobody with a good car needs to be justified," declared one of Flannery O'Connor's fictional characters, accurately assessing America's century-long embrace of the gospel of gasoline with all the fervor that any jealous, justifying god could want. Prayerful motoring has declined these days, what with the rising cost of burnt offerings, so AutoErotica, a nostalgic/satirical look at our gearhead folkways, is both timely and timeless. Here are Philip Hall's romantic digital photographs of exotic 1930s Bugattis and Delahayes, and iconic, resplendently finned 1950s Vettes and Caddies; Bill Silveira's eccentric, humorous sculptures made from salvaged auto and other mechanical parts -- including a '55 Cadillac front end mounted like a taxidermied animal head; and Laurel True's gritty but elegant alt-material mosaics, immortalizing anonymous patches of roadway replete with skidmarks, cracks, and potholes. Through September 6 at theFloatCenter (1091 Calcot Pl., #116, Oakland).510-535-1702 (call for hours).

-- By DeWitt Cheng