Stylistically speaking, the paintings in this small show organized by Andrew Freiser might be as comfortable at the tradition-preserving National Academy of Design as in a cutting-edge Chelsea gallery.
In almost every case, though, a conceptual spin on the idea of realism makes the difference here. Portraits push well beyond faithful depiction. Robin Lowe's ''Caldetas/ Layla'' is a fearsome adult-child composite, Kellie O'Bosky's self-portraits are woozy, paint-drooling glamour shots. And Brenda Zlamany's moody sepia-toned heads of unnamed men are self-consciously Rembrandtesque, right down to the ridges of impasto.
Royce Weatherly's meticulous fruit and vegetable still lifes look straightforward enough, though his titles (''Weegee's Dinner'' for a pair of potatoes) have a contemporary ring, as, of course, does Douglas Wada's ''Viva le Rock,'' a painting of electronic amplifiers, and Richard Phillips's big, Pop-ish image of a woman's face ornamented with a rainbow.
Finally, Matthew Antezzo's oil-on-canvas versions of photos of galleries and personalities lifted from art magazines might be considered a form of that academic chestnut, history painting, though how heroic or even ''real'' the results can be, given the subject matter, is naturally a matter of debate. Still, any show that tickles the mind with such questions is well worth a look. HOLLAND COTTER