Best shows this month

Human Wave: The Videotapes of Raymond Pettibon at Space Studios, London

Stephen G Rhodes at Isabella Bortolozzi, Berlin

David Horvitz at Chert, Berlin

Danny McDonald at Cabinet, London (actual show opens from Feb 10)

Picks from the past last week

Hex and Xeroxlore at SPACE Studios

Ilja Karilampi's Hoodumentary at Wilkinson Gallery

Philip Lai at Stuart Shave Modern Art

The Anti-Library

I went to SPACE Studios yesterdays and saw a show that made me laugh a lot. It was a project that I was asked to take part in - an Anti-Library. The starting point was this quote by essayist Nassim Nicholas Taleb: "... a private library is not an ego-boosting appendage but a research tool. Read books are far less valuable than unread ones..."

On the specially created shelving space are book (not read by artists and writers including Jamie Shovlin, Aleksandra Domanovic, Tom Morton, Oliver Laric, Cally Spooner, Tom Ellis, Mark Essen, Yuri Pattison and many others. Each book had the name of the donor inserted accompanied by a text explaining why it had been donated in the giver's own works. Some of them were bloody hilarious and it was a very interesting insight into everyone's bookshelves (who doesnt like rummaging around bookshelves??)

Particularly entertaining choices included Harry Burden donated tome on castration, Dave Hoyland of Seventeen Gallery's self help book on friends of alcoholics and Julie Verhoeven's copy of Erica Jong's Fear of Flying with the cover ripped off. My personal choice was a dusty 60s copy of Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar (ug so dull, that whole rich teen girl depression thing. As I wrote when I was younger I wanted to be Anais Nin not Plath).

The show is open under Dec 17 and I really recommend having a rummage.

3 things in London this week

1) Mike Kelley at Gagosian Britannia Street
(Photo of Kandor 10B (Exploded Fortress of Solitude) (interior view), 2011, by Fredrik Nilsen above)

2) Paul McDevitt at Stephen Friedman
(La Ligne Claire, 2011)

3) Rhododendron at SPACE studios

Short and Sweet

If you're around Wednesday 29 at 1pm Samuel Levack and Jennifer Lewandowski are putting on a performance (their first) for 12 minutes at Space.

'Normal Love' is an imagined cover of a found song, inspired by an unseen film. Layering live music and vocals on to previous sessions recorded at their studio and the Union Chapel in Islington, with visuals from their forthcoming film projected on to the performance.

Um I think I may be in the film and projections... dancing...

The piece is part of Charlie Woolley's Radio Show (which runs until Oct 16 to coincide with his solo show). Listen live here: http://radio.spacestudios.org.uk

Show of the Month: Ben Sansbury

Ben Sansbury gets a worthy whole page in my art pages this month in Dazed. I've been looking forward to this show for a long time. (Its accompanied by a dose of old rave from Gavin Watson. Its a great name Gavin....)

Preview Thurdsay 6-9pm (with afterparty). Exhibition run May 14 - June 19 at SPACE Studios http://www.spacestudios.org.uk/

NEU! BEN SANSBURY: AMAXAMA

Marked by Sansbury’s consciously clunky and totemic aesthetic, AMAXAMA is a mash-up of forms and thoughts centred on a single monumental hub. Housed in a large-scale walk-in structure built by Sansbury over a three week period leading up to the exhibition, sculpture, painting, photography, collage, film and sound will coalesce to form a single complex installation.

An expanded referential field underpins AMAXAMA as a whole. Sansbury is seduced by that which is old and Other; symbolic registrations drawn from myth and tribe merging with an archival passion for Old Europe and its many alchemic oddities to form the baseline of his exhibition.

AMAXAMA is Ben Sansbury’s first major solo exhibition. He studied at St Martins and The Royal College of Art. He lives and works in London.

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ANNEXE /// GAVIN WATSON: RAVING ‘89
Raving ’89 is an exhibition by celebrated British photographer Gavin Watson. Documenting the subterranean rave and acid house culture that emerged across the UK in the late 80s, Raving ’89 is a captivating chronicle of a grassroots social and cultural movement.

Tonight

Next SPACE opening tonight. Go see Adam Frank Thomas and Nick Laessing (and a couple of other shows too for good measure). PV Thursday 18th March 6pm - 9pm. Shows runs until April 17.
I recommend eyeing up Paul Pieroni's blog to keep an eye on upcoming projects. He's the next generation's Hans Ulrich Obrist.

More Cameron Jamie

Finally framing all the artwork that has been in my cupboard. Soon to go up on my walls are pieces by Rick Myers, Steve Viezens, Julie Verhoeven and a proof from the recent reprint of the 1968 Paris Riot posters - alongside the work already up by Christian Schoeler, Francois Halard, Paul Davis and a ton of reworked postcards. It seemed like perfect moment to buy more... In my case a silkscreen (with an invisible glow in the dark layer!) from my favourite artist Cameron Jamie. I got mine from the oh so well curated Donlon Books. Thank god for Habitat's cheap and unobtrusive Aluminus frames...

Class Art of 2009

My top ten exhibitions of 2009

1 Teresa Margolles at the Mexican Pavillion at the Venice Biennale.


2 Marina Abramovic Presents at Manchester International Festival.


3 The Dark Monarch at the Tate St Ives.


4 VORSPANNKINO at KW Berlin.


5. Mike Kelley at Galerie Hussenot.


6. Andro Wekua and Daido Moriyama at Unlimited at Art Basel.


7. The new curation of SPACE studios under Paul Pieroni. (Overexcited about the Destroy All Monsters show opening January...).


8. Tom Ellis' daylight fireworks and Jennifer Lewandowski's Triptych at the Boathouse at Port Eliot Festival.


9. Ryan McGinley 'Moonmilk' at Alison Jacques gallery and Seb Patane at Maureen Paley.


10. Julie Verhoeven at MU in Eindhoven - because I had so much fun.

While I'm away

I'm in Paris from Monday for 9 whole days - working on an exhibition I'm part-curating at a fashion fair (of all places) about the idea of Excess... While I'm away there are a stupid amount of shows opening in London. Marnie Weber at Simon Lee. Armen Eloyan at Timothy Taylor. Chicks on Speed at Kate McGarry etc

But there is place that has to be seen: SPACE studios, which has been taken over curatorial by Paul Pieroni. Tom Ellis and Richard John Jones kick things off - and there is a mini installation dive bar here by Dean Baldwin (fresh from Venice Biennale). Private view Thursday 3rd September 6pm-9pm.

A bientot...