For many an art world layman, the word "art" often brings to mind images of paintings, drawings, photos or other two-dimensional works. But sculpture is very much an art form, if one that is often overlooked by the masses in favor of colored bits of canvas. New Age Gallery's latest show, dubbed "New Language In Sculptures," brings together a selection of works from artists born after 1970 that present sculpting at its imaginative best.

Using a mix of media, the group of seven sculptors explore form, weight and statement with works that are as diverse as they are interesting. Zheng Lu's delicate Dripping No. 2 hangs in mid-air, looking, from a distance, like a splash of suspended mercury. Closer inspection reveals hundreds, perhaps thousands, of intricately linked oracle bone characters, each seamlessly fused to the next to create an effect not unlike metallic lace.

Nearby sit several of Zou Liang's figures—shiny, smooth silver and bronze sculptures of gracefully elongated human forms accented with thick, bright paint colorfully highlighting a head here, an upper body there.

Whereas Zou and Zheng make metal appear light as air, Fan Xiaoyan's female mannequin is weighted down with heavy-looking bits of polished armor for an effect that is both extraordinarily camp and vaguely frightening. With a figure that looks as if she's ready to fight in a futuristic war, Fan's comment on women's roles in modern society is unmistakeable.

But the most fascinating piece is Wang Liwei's Leather Body, a life-sized female figure made of dirty, white leather strips sewn together with heavy, dark thread. Her hair, comprised of thick strings of the same dark thread, is swept into a chignon, as she lazily reclines, propped up on her hand.

"New Language in Sculptures" is a welcome reminder that this genre of art can be just as visually exciting as the latest Yue Minjun painting.

New Age Gallery, through Jan. 31, www.newagegallery.com