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)

Berlin Address Book 2013

I thought it was about time I updated my address books for the cities I frequent so often for friends et al.

As I'm off to Berlin at the end of the month it seemed a good place to begin

Food/ Drink
Nil , Oppelnerstr. 4, Kreuzberg
Cafe Fleury, Weinbergsweg 20, Mitte
Pappa e Ciccia, (Sunday brunch is incredible too) Schwedter Str 18, Prenzlauer Berg
Bar 3, Weydingerstraße 20, Mitte

Coffee
Lois, Linienstrasse 60, Mitte
Oliv, Munzstrasse 8, Mitte
Milchhalle (the Bircher Museli is so good), Auguststr 50, Mitte

Books and Publications
Motto Berlin, Skalitzer Str. 68, im Hinterhof, Kreuzberg
Do You Read Me?, Auguststr 28, Mitte 
Konig Books, Burgstrasse 27, Mitte

Galleries
Peres Projects (moving to new location)
Isabella Bortolozzi, Schoneberger Ufer 61
Hamburger Banhopf, Invalidenstraße 50-51
Also  Duve Berlin, Kraupa Tuskany, Club Midnight, Tanya Leighton, Guido Baudach, Spruth Magers  
www.indexberlin.de for openings and what shows are on

Image Michael Schmidt Unitled (from Stadtbilder), 1982/2009, Gelatin silver Print, 70,1 x 88,2 cm, 89,3 x 104,9 cm framed (Ed. of 5)

Three things that made me happy this week

1) My E-Vapor-8 show at 319 Scholes in New York last May was mentioned as one of the 10 Pivotal Moments in Digital Art in 2012. Blush.

2) Island Pavillion launched with some rather mouthwatering prints by some good young artists (including a few I have put in past exhibitions and projects Alexander Peverett, Sara Ludy and Petra Cortright) The digital psychedelic Peverett above was obviously my top choice.

3) Mark Leckey is doing a Artist Film Club event at the ICA Jan 9. I bought tickets months ago and am overexcited its almost here.

Seasonal Book Action

I have A LOT of books next to my bed thanks to Christmas, a new project in research and the obvious bibliophilia... Here's this month's top ten:

The Demon by Hubert Selby Jr

Going Public by Boris Groys

The Resistable Demise of Michael Jackson edited by Mark Fisher

BFI Film Classics: Don't Look Now

Extreme Metaphors: Interviews of JG Ballard 1967-2008 

1968 in America: Music, Politics, Chaos, Counterculture, and the Shaping of a Generation by Charles Kaiser

Colin de Land, American Fine Arts by Dennis Balk

Bel Ami by Guy de Maupassant

and I'm dipping back in again to the overwhelmingly inspirational Atlas of Transformation

A Late Renaissance Moment

Exhibitions get quiet over the Christmas New Year period so I'm finding myself wandering back to the National Gallery a lot at the moment. In particular I'm having a late Renaissance moment. Feeling Salome by Cesare da Sesto (top), Michelangelo's homoeroticism and canvas exposure in The Entombment (middle) and of always and forever the weirdness of Allegory of Venus and Cupid by Bronzino (bottom). I also got very excited about going around with Thomas Dozol and looking at all the portraits with pitch black background.

Oh Dear

I get bored slash productive around Christmas so I stupidly changed my blog template design and I'm not very happy with the result... I am throwing up my favourite video work now to stop myself making it worse at midnight. Adrian Piper's Funk Lessons is now available on ubuweb. I asked to show this in a little exhibition once but sadly couldnt afford the loan fee. Enjoy these 15 minutes of genius for Chrismas...