They're a "group of two" who clearly see the sum of both their lives as steps taken together.

Reinhold Edelschein is a painter; Henrietta Edelschein, a sculptor. This Mount Airy couple, exhibiting together at Allens Lane Art Center, have been married 58 years. And although the development and realization of their art proceeded differently, the display of their recent work together yields fine harmony.

Rein Edelschein's paintings are breathless, but hardly airless. And he makes the primacy of color his own in these partly abstract, imaginary landscapes and nature works.

These acrylics sparkle. I would guess Edelschein is able to forgo preparatory drawing in favor of drawing directly with color. He seems to have a gift of being able to take in what he needs, apply it without hesitation, and achieve results decisively.

Syncopations, shifts, and reversals analogous to musical tonalities are basic to him. Yet there's also the pure movement of colored form here that, if we follow it, spells out completeness. His bird sketches in ink echo and answer the sweeping elements in paintings by this former student of Hans Hofmann.

Heni Edelschein, a former Rudolph Staffel student, shows small ceramic figure sculptures. These are radically flattened, sometimes have twistings, yet aren't trying to banish 3-D. Heni's hard clarity, formalism, and personal detachment persist.

Coolness isn't basic to her sculpture, though. Instead, this seemingly anonymous but acutely selective observer has put vital movement in Reclining Nude and a touch of humor in Opera Singer.

Allens Lane Art Center, 601 W. Allens Lane, Philadelphia. To June 12. Mon.-Fri. 10-5. Free. 215-248-0546.

St. Asaph Gallery

A Wisconsin bishop, Raymond L. Burke, wanted the outdoor Mysteries of the Rosary porcelain murals for his big, new Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in LaCrosse, Wis., to be of real significance to devout visitors.

So he hired artist Anthony Visco of Philadelphia in 2003 for the first of many painting/sculpture assignments. Visco also became fine-arts coordinator for a dozen other artists working on the five-year LaCrosse project. Half the artists hired were from Philadelphia or trained here, including the lead architect.

Now, Visco introduces 20 large oils at St. Asaph Gallery portraying episodes from Jesus' life on which his LaCrosse tile murals are based. Full of figures, each scene (some portrayed as if within this shrine church, others completely imaginary) focuses keen attention on composition.

Visco's "idealism" here is grounded in a realistic style rooted in Italian Renaissance/Baroque traditions. Emphasized are 3-D modeling of human form; careful, realistic drawing of drapery; clarity of silhouette; and various action poses. Crucifixion is a show highlight.

St. Asaph Gallery, 27 Conshohocken State Rd., Bala Cynwyd. To May 27. Mon.-Fri. 9-3. Free. 610-664-0966.

Pagus Gallery

It's a lift to see Anna Belle Loeb's paintings for the first time. That's because she takes command of her 18 large, acrylic paintings at Pagus with such easy assurance.

Loeb is a Southerner transplanted to Chestnut Hill, a lawyer in midcareer who has taken up painting seriously, having studied with Tim Hawkesworth. She touches on many subjects here: history, family, politics, a shaman, grief, gardens, comedy, and tragedy. And yet, her paintings aren't objects.

Although some contain recognizable images, they're more about the feeling in each that's experienced at some remove from nature, yet not really removed from it. Thus, they draw us in and carry us along, the best examples being authentically civilized experiences.

Such pictures are made up of loosely brushed color, seemingly casually applied, that allows many of these pieces to open up and breathe. Loeb has found rich, new possibilities in her chosen subject, the poetry of the everyday.

Pagus Gallery, 619 W. Washington, Norristown. To May 23. Mon.-Fri. 10-4. Free. 610-272-8484.