You’d think most artists would scoff at a curator who places specific confinements on their works. We’d argue that an artist’s creative process should be free-flowing and unobstructed. But who doesn’t love a challenge? And the 22 local artists featured in this show at Valencia undoubtedly rose to the challenge: to create pieces in whatever medium, so long as they are no larger than 16 inches in any direction. Sure, some stuck with a consistent format, like Paul Scarborough’s vibrant oil and ink-on-canvas works, but as Richard Munster’s wood-fired stoneware and the wood-plastic-metal assemblage works by Susan Loden attest, others reached beyond and, in fact, produced an entirely distinctive version of that so-called box. – Aimee Vitek