A wide and varied range of expression is as commonplace in the visual arts as it has become in other aspects of culture, such as fashion and music, as evidenced by two exhibitions with accompanying talks this week and next.

The paintings in "David Michael Bowers: Humanity Unveiled" at the Westmoreland Museum of American Art are accomplished using the pain­staking techniques of the Old Masters, but incorporate contemporary subject matter and figures to often disquieting effect.

At the more conceptual end of the continuum is Ben Schachter's "Fences" at the American Jewish Museum. The work is grounded in a historic religious practice but gains contemporary presence by its interactive quality and encouragement of dialogue.

Schachter, Saint Vincent College's chair and professor of fine arts, has throughout his career employed uncommon materials and actions to probe the history and psychology of cultural roles.

Here he examines the notion of community through the concept of "eruv," a Hebrew term translated as "to mix or join together." In Squirrel Hill or other locations around the world where Orthodox Jews live, the eruv defines community, here marked by a barely visible wire boundary.

There are pragmatic as well as spiritual reasons for establishing such areas, such as freeing individuals to carry packages, considered work, within eruvim on the Shabbat, which would otherwise violate religious prohibitions.

Schachter invites visitors to mark upon a map where they've walked within the eruv, and he transfers that information in tape to an outline of the geographic area on the gallery floor. Encircling the gallery, to form a "Community Eruv," is a panel onto which the artist has sewn phrases submitted by visitors. Also on the walls are geometric drawings that represent the eruv two-dimensionally.

Through his project, Schachter questions and encourages discussion of the meaning of community and what it comprises, as well as more expanded notions of physical space and an individual's relationship to it, as he marks and is marked by his social and material surrounds.

It's a timely effort in a fast-changing world that is simultaneously re-configuring, juxtaposing, establishing and dissolving communities large and small.

This is the second of three exhibitions astutely curated by artist and former AJM director Leslie Golomb and bookended by projects by Ally Reeves and Anna Divinsky.

At 1 p.m. Sunday Rabbi Yisroel Miller of Congregation Poale Zedeck will lead a discussion about the history and significance of the eruvim (free).

"Fences" continues through Tuesday at the Jewish Community Center, 5738 Forbes Ave., Squirrel Hill; enter through the lower level parking garage. Open daily. Admission is free. Information: 412-521-8010 or jccpgh.org.

Bowers, 53, was born in Chambersburg and is a graduate of the Art Institute of Pittsburgh who left a successful career as an illustrator to paint his own imaginings.

"I had accomplished all I wanted to do in the illustration business. I didn't have the passion anymore," he said recently by phone from his Washington County home. "It was all copy-driven."

Certainly not now.

"They're very art historical -- I liked that," Westmoreland curator Barbara Jones said. "A little on the dark side, a little humorous, a little quirky." Comparisons to contemporary artists John Currin, Odd Nerdrum, a little of Malcolm Parcell, come to mind.

Within the settings, pristine representation and palette of the likes of Rembrandt and Vermeer are "for the most part portraits of people, narratives of the foibles of life," Jones said.

For example, "Paulina's Dream," which shows a luminous if dismayed bride wearing a white satin gown seated in front of a house trailer, her unexpected home. "It's about dreams that don't always come true," the artist told Jones. "You marry and expect a great life and end up in a trailer park. People go into life blindfolded."

Bowers paints finely, with oil on masonite, panels or linen. "You can't see the hand of the artist," Jones said. "There's a lot of dimension to them. His stories continue in the background."

"The Cock Thief" is a well-dressed but disheveled woman with a determined look who holds a rooster, a commentary on how even the wealthy may resort to thievery when they have no money for food. The landscape is Renaissance, and giving chase along a winding road are figures from Grant Wood's "American Gothic." Is there an erotic undertone?

"I think there's sexual innuendo in a lot of them," Jones answers. Citing "Daddy's Little Princess" as another image with more than one possible reading, she said. "They make you feel a little uncomfortable. But they make you face that such situations exist."

At 7 p.m. March 26, Bowers and Robert Trombetta, author of the 2006 book "David Michael Bowers: The Evolution of an Artist," will speak about the artist's philosophy and technique (free).

"Humanity" continues through May 24 at 221 N. Main St., Greensburg. Hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays and until 9 p.m. Thursdays. Suggested donation is $5; children under 12 free. Information: 724-837-1500 or wmuseumaa.org.