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

Back from Miami install of 150 works at Soho Beach House. Quite proud. Had a much better time than expected in the city. Obviously ill the minute I returned home and the adrenalin subsided.

Today I'm going to make a collage for Tjorg Douglas Beer of The Forgotten Bar who's putting on a show in Berlin during Art Forum. Gonna make something along the lines of this I put together ages ago. Its rare I make anything. Scissors and glue out in anticipation (as illustrated by Ellen Lanyon.

Cordelia Swann

I saw a truly brilliant artwork last night. Cordelia Swann's Piece at Polytechnic at Raven Row. The sounds of Charlie Mingus' I X Love hit me when I entered the room. The music was the accompaniment to two photo projectors doing a slide show, taking turns to create fresh juxtapositions of images. 'The Mysteries of Berlin' (1979-82) was all about the Cold War, the dark truth within images, the rise of Communism. I spotted a still from Ashes and Diamonds. It was a bit like in Antonioni's Blow Up when David Hemmings keeps blowing up a photograph to look at a more intense detail and spot a murder. A kind of dialogue-less film. Basically its bloody great.

In the Pink

Pink seems to be the colour of choice for exhibition invites this week. Polytechnic opens at Raven Row on Wednesday night and if the tube strike has abated I'm there (Mark Titchner opens at Vilma Gold the same time).

Two shows opening on September 9 - one in Paris and one in London - both seem to be claiming the Lower East side artists that were so big a couple of years ago. At Agnes B's space, Dash Snow, Ryan McGinley and Harmony Korine's films get an outing; while at Ritter/Zamet in London, Jonathan Ellis King has curated The Coke Factory bring together work by Agathe Snow (who I think is the best of the bunch), Dan Colen, Aurel Schmidt, Nate Lowman et al. He's aligning the work with NYC as a kind of 'factory' (the word Warhol hovers invisibly above the press release). It'll be interesting to see if the work stands up or if that crop feels strangely dated and out of step with now which I expect some of it will.

Art wakes up

The art world is waking up this month - and these are some of the good things in London opening in the coming week.

Sept 1 Gregor Schnieder @ Sadie Coles


Sept 2 A MUST Charlie Woolley - Mysterious Cults @ SPACE Studios


Sept 3 Cameron Jamie event in Nottingham Free but book tickets online.


Sept 4 MALE @ Maureen Paley


Sept 7 Hussein Chalayan at Lisson Gallery 6-8pm



Sept 11 Wysing festival
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I'm going to be chairing a talk on art and urban space at the Shanghai Expo in October for the UN for those in China.....

From London

I'm always asked about my recommendations for other cities. So I thought I'd do the same for home.

Galleries
- Maureen Paley, 21 Herald Street, London E2
- SPACE Studios, 129—131 Mare St, London E8
- Seventeen Gallery (basement shows at the back). 17 Kingsland Rd, London E2
- Camden Arts Centre, Arkwright Rd, London NW3
- Stuart Shave Modern Art, 23/25 Eastcastle St, London W1

Food, Coffee
- Dean Street Townhouse, 69 Dean St, London W1 (art, amaretto sours)
- Polpo, 41 Beak St, London W1
- Bar Bruno, 101 Wardour St, London W1
- St John (the bar area), 26 St John St, London EC1
- The Wolseley, 160 Piccadilly, London W1
- Flat White, 17 Berwick St, London W1
- Daquise, 20 Thurloe Street London SW7 (in afternoons for apple strudel and a taste of 60s poland),

Drink
- The French House, 49 Dean St, London W1
- The Royal Oak, 73 Columbia Rd, London E2
- The Holly Bush, 22 Holly Mount, London NW3
- Cecconi's, 5a Burlington Gardens, London W1 (prosecco on tap at the bar)

Shop
- Compton News, 48 Old Compton Street, London W1
- Fopp for 3 quid DVDs and CDs, 1 Earlham Street, London WC2
- Music and Video Exchange shops (esp the Book one 14 Pembridge Road, and Soul and Dance, 42 Notting Hill Gate).
- Fenwicks, 63 New Bond St, London W1
- The Top Shop concession in Selfridges; The B Store on Saville row for shoes; Fred Perry on Newburgh St; APC on Dover St etc