"Under Influence," a group show in the UA Museum of Art's main gallery, presents an unlikely pairing of two very different artists. George Arntz's energetic, aggressive pieces are a stark contrast to Victoria Looper-Horne's cool, calculated statements, but the two provide an entertaining spectacle nevertheless.

Arntz, a local artist and musician, presents pop psychedelia with a massive dose of angst. His playful, overstuffed canvases are an eye-melting whirl of color and energy, full of texture and detail. At once cartoonish and complex, Arntz combines comic book imagery and a dense style that seems suited to album covers with deep humanistic subjects, such as the struggle with addiction.

His acrylics are executed in a rough, physical style that has a sculptural element. One painting even features an ax protruding from the canvas, a simulated attack on his own work. Dense, crowded scenes of caricatured humans, animals, cars, skulls, eyes, and all manner of unidentifiable objects cascade over several of the canvases.

Arntz is as eclectic as the '60s generation he seems to have taken inspiration from. There are signs of influence from surrealism to R. Crumb, Max Ernst to Picasso. He combines occasional nods to pop culture (one figure sports a Grateful Dead T-shirt) with more complex psychological imagery to good effect.

Hiding in the explosive funk of his canvases are little splotches of realism that showcase Arntz's painterly skill, but he really shines when his imagination takes hold. Able to modulate from frantic to moody, several of his pieces tone down the visual style to explore a more inward view. "Junk Yard Rothko" features a surreal depiction of an artist's dream while drunk on "Mr. Bubble," a piece both funny and disturbing.

The artist also has no qualms about political subjects: "Homage to Ezra Pound" features a prominent Nazi flag, alluding to the poet's alleged fascist and anti-Semitic politics.

Other pieces feature obscure metaphors, such as men with snakes for noses, that leave the viewer feeling a little outside of an obviously inside joke. The few self-portraits are subtly presented and reveal a complex, highly critical view by the artist.

Arntz's collage style sometimes lets him down by mucking up the composition, but overall, his pieces are visceral, aggressive, and lots of fun to look at.

Victoria Looper-Horne's work ranges from 3-D installations and sculpture to small watercolors. Her pieces seem less urgent than Arntz's, and their cool, calculated appearance runs counter to the exhibit's overall title. Colorful and well-executed, Looper-Horne's wide selection of pieces pleases the eye, but seems ultimately unsatisfying. Didactic titles and notes on the wall seem to promise a different style or content than the images present.

On Aug. 28, both artists will create installations in front of the Museum, and Arntz will perform with his band at the closing on Sept. 8.

The Museum's hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.weekdays, Noon to 4 p.m. Sundays, closed Saturdays.