DINA BURSZTYN'S sculptures and drawings at the Longwood Art Gallery deserve attention. It is partly because the works are sensual and lonesome, and partly because the artist, 56, is one of those hardy art world troopers who has soldiered on despite decades of hard work with intermittent acclaim. To this critic, such dedication commands respect.  But her neglect also raises an awkward question: Was Ms. Bursztyn overlooked for a lack of talent or was it because she was out on her own making original work that defied reigning art world fashions? Happily, this expansive survey organized by Wallace Edgecombe and Edwin Ramoran confirms that Ms. Bursztyn is an artist of remarkable range, talent and ability. She even writes a little beat poetry.  Born in Argentina, Ms. Bursztyn moved to New York City in 1976. For years she lived and worked in the Bronx, before moving to Peekskill and then to Catskill. She has been awarded several public art commissions in New York City, and participated in numerous group exhibitions all over the country. But so far museums have remained impervious to her talent.  Titled ''Myths/Mitos,'' the exhibition brings together around 50 of the artist's works, including prints, drawings, artist's books, wall sculptures, all from the last 15 years, a number of recent life-size ceramic female figures and a new installation with totems. All are fiercely hybrid concoctions, marrying influences from various cultures, times and modes of thinking. Appropriately I think, Ms. Bursztyn refers to her works as ''contemporary artifacts.''  Many of Ms. Bursztyn's works possess an enchanting playfulness. Among the best are many small, clumsy-looking stoneware sculptures of imaginary devices, including a machine to make illegal aliens legal, a phone to talk to the sea, a microscope to look at oneself and even a computer to slow oneself down. In clashing colors, all illuminate the mind and dazzle the eye.  ''Machine to Transform Illegal Aliens Into Legal'' (1999) is a hollowed-out, pungently colored vessel pierced with nails. Hard and treacly, it looks like an old-fashioned boiled candy. But it is really a piece of mild, amateur activism, with the artist trading on our capacity to believe in anything. Inside the vessel, some newly arrived ''aliens'' prepare for transformation into workaday Americans. Soon their slates will be wiped clean. Their future commences now.  ''Gargoyles to Scare Developers,'' a series of masks with over-size holes for eyes and mouths, also grind an activist ax. Amazingly ugly, and thus also pretty scary to nondevelopers like me, these gawky masks belong to a long tradition of totemic objects used to ward off intruders. Redolent with magic and mystery, they appeal to higher powers.  Also on display are about a dozen of the artist's prints and drawings, few of which have been shown publicly. Most are sketchy, fairly idiosyncratic maps of New York City, which is often depicted as a well-head of crime, corporate exploitation and commodity culture. At once socially grim and poetically rich, they provide remarkably stimulating viewing.  The centerpiece of the exhibition is an installation of a dozen or so large clay sculptures of female figures incorporating found objects, like tree branches, feathers and knives. Each is surrounded with decorative designs made from spices, seeds, candles and many other materials. Curiously, Ms. Bursztyn seems never to have met a material she didn't like.  Tribal artifacts and votive sculptures from around the world are an obvious source of inspiration for these figures, in particular ritualistic sculptures used in pantheistic religious cults like Santeria. But Ms. Bursztyn's sculptures have a distinctly contemporary, metropolitan edge, transmitting a message of feminine strength and potential. They are modern goddesses.  ''Lady River'' (2002) is one of Ms. Bursztyn's most striking goddess sculptures. An assemblage of ceramics and found objects, the figure stands about nine feet high holding an old oar. Surrounding the piece are candles, jars, seeds, shells, fruit and other natural materials. Earthy and sensual, this fictitious creature exudes a primal allure. Perhaps she is related to the sirens, that race of singing women in Greek mythology who lured unwary sailors onto rocks?  Writing in the exhibition catalog, Marcy B. Freedman suggests that Ms. Bursztyn ''may be considered a shaman of sorts, for her art transcends the realm of aesthetics to occupy a higher plane of significance.'' Just what plane that might be I don't know, but there is no doubt that her magical ceramic goddesses have the power to fill you with wonder and awe.  ''Dina Bursztyn: Myths/Mitos'' is at the Longwood Art Gallery, Hostos Community College, 450 Grand Concourse, the Bronx, through June 26. Information: (718)401-7866 or www.bronxarts.org.
Benjamin Genocchio reviews sculptures and drawings by Dina Bursztyn at Hostos Community College's Longwood Art Gallery in Bronx; photos (M)