“Customization characterizes the art of Rubén Ortiz Torres in almost all media,” said fellow artist, Ondine Chavoya. Defined as “the action of modifying something to suit a particular task,” customization is a strategy that the Mexican-born, California-based Torres uses to bridge conflicting cultures. His installations, objects, paintings, and films have established him as a postmodernist. The work here, in his first retrospective, questions the difference between what is national and what is popular. —E.C.