Show of the month? Probably

The Historical Box - originally show at Hauser and Wirth Zurich but so damn good they brought it to London. Curated by Mara McCarthy of LA Gallery The Box, this is old school Los Angeles pioneers from 50s-70s. So many good artists - Stan VanDerBeek (its a VanDerBeek week with daughter Sara opening The Approach tonight), Barbara T Smith (her performances in particular were SO good), John Altoon. Conceptual without being dry. Funny without being flippant. This was a damn good show.

Last chance in London

I've been missing all these shows in London and intend to see them all this week. Weirdly, Bourgeois aside, they all have a video vibe! I need to start looking at sculpture and paintings again don't I....

1)  Remote Control at ICA (Aleksandra Domanovic still above)

                

2) Louise Bourgeois at The Freud Museum (end May 27)

3) Elizabeth Price at MOT International (ends May 26)

                

    

4) Benedict Drew at Cell Project Space (ends May 27)

E-Vaporation

The past 8 days have been so busy its ridiculous. I am so pleased with how E-Vapor-8 turned out (with mentions on New York magazine, Artinfo, Phaidon, Purple Diary, Rhizome and my Dazed piece). Such a huge turn out at the opening. The show is open until May 18, Thurs-Sun 2-6pm. Go see.

Frieze also was great - esp Tanya Leighton's booth of Oliver Laric and Aleksandra Domanovic's works, Samara Golden at the Night Gallery and the pop up Soho House where we hung out for about 5 hours.

While hallucinating with jet lag (the close up image above from Travess Smalley's large vinyl piece is a fair representation of my brain) these are the people in particular that I would like to thank in an Oscar-style for making the week so fun:

All the artists - esp Lucy Stokton, Rhys Coren, Hannah Perry, Travess Smalley, Christian Petersen, Jeffrey Gibson, Alexandra Gorkczynski for travelling across the globe to be there. All at 319 Scholes - Lindsay Howard, Igal Nassima and the tech god that is Sam Hart. DOorDINE for letting us all turn up there en masse post opening.

My boys Ben Sansbury and Nicola Pecoraro who are in 4 person show at The Bowery Hotel which runs until May 21. Seana Gavin (whose work is on show at The Other Art Fair from tomorrow!) and Aurora Aspen - who are so part of me they are like extra limbs.

Kadar Brock for being amazing in general, Kaspar Sonne, Alban de P, Steve Clark, Dave Hoyland and Tim Steer from Seventeen (May 17 opening of Motion in the diary), Laura, Ned, Aaron and Mette Moulton for their surprise karaoke appearance amongst many others, Ruby Warrington, Brendan Fowler (finally in person), Alex Duve etc etc etc.... and last but definitely not least Jay.

Gallery Weekend 2012 Highlights

The biennial was unspeakable (a tower of babel of failed political action and no art) but thankfully found some inspiration while in Berlin this week.

1) The Big Inexplicable Paravent Illusion at Isabella Bortolozzi

Amazing group show about magic littered with images from magic circles (as above) and brilliant works by Ed Atkins, Stephen G Rhodes, Man Ray and especially Danny McDonald who I am now completely obsessed with.

2) Adrien Missika at Galerie Crone

I couldn't find a good image of the new works but they were stunning architectural structures, with video elements, and light filters. It was damn good.

3) Wolf Vostell

A little solo presentation at the Berlinishe Galerie of this 1960s Berlin artist I had never heard of blew me away. Inserting TVs into sculptural Keinholz influenced assemblages about the holocaust. Seriously jaw dropping work (the photo above from my crappy phone) Emilio Vedova installation next to below also rather amazing.

Absurd Berlin Diary '64
1964 © Fondazione Emilio e Annabianca Vedova, Venedig

And I also sang an a cappella set devoted to paintings at a new lovely editions shop UnLimited Company and went to The Paris Bar which had everyone from Doig to Kruger on the walls afterwards for the first time which I completely fell in love with.

You can hear me sing Mona Lisa here if you fancy

E Vapor 8

It's been a crazy few weeks for me. A mention in the Evening Standard as the curator of Little House (which I installed last week). A positive review of Responsive Eyes in TimeOut. My name on the cover of Its Nice That to coincide with a 3000 word feature I wrote on virtual and real spaces to exhibit art. A mention in Vogue and a full feature in the latest issue of Dazed about my upcoming NYC show E-Vapor-8 at 319 Scholes. For those stateside save May 5 for the opening.

Lots more info to come but so happy with the list of artists involved:

Fatima Al Qadiri
Cory Arcangel and Frankie Martin
Rhys Coren
Petra Cortright
Jeremy Deller
Aleksandra Domanovic
Cecile B Evans
Jeffrey Gibson
Alexandra Gorczynski
Leslie Kulesh
Samuel Levack and Jennifer Lewandowski
Marisa Olson
Hannah Perry
Christian J. Petersen (Dumb Eyes)
Travess Smalley
Lucy Stokton
Daniel Swan

Reading List

I have a giant pile of books next to my bed at home (and under the bedside tables, on the 5 sets of shelves, in the cupboard, in piles in front of the shelves... you get the idea). You can read my past reading lists
here , and here, and here Here is my current shelf selection:

Peer Pressure: Essays on the Internet by an Artist on the Internet by Brad Troemel

Zona by Geoff Dyer

Women Artists at the Millennium ed by Carol Armstrong and Catherine de Zehger

The World in Six Songs by Daniel Leviten

Caravaggio: A Life Sacred and Profane by Andrew Graham-Dixon

In Wonderland: The Surrealist Adventures of Women Artists In Mexico and the United States by Illene Susan Fort and Tere Arcq

Go Human Not Ape by Francesco Spampinato

The Nine Eyes of Google Street View by Jon Rafman

The Air-Conditioned Nightmare by Henry Miller

The Doll: Short Stories by Daphne Du Maurier

(Image 'Memento Mori' "To This Favour" by William Michael Harnett)