Plan Ahead

I have no idea if I'll be able to make this opening, but, god, I really, really want to. Cory Marc -- who needed me to make some changes to his Website again, which is the only time he calls me -- and I were looking at the Seattle Erotic Art Festival site (which show Cory got into and I did not, so he gets to put on latex pants and hang out with the freaks and weirdos while I have to stay home in my basement). Among the truly crappy stuff on display he pointed out the work of John John Jesse. His Website -- which is pretty cool, even if it's Flash -- has a link to a non-existent page on Madeline von Foerster, but I found her new site through Google. Turns out a) her paintings look like the most awesome objects on the planet and b) her opening at Fuse Gallery is this weekend.

Also at Fuse at the same time is Melissa Murray, whose paintings look good but disturbing. Or is that good and disturbing?

This Thursday I'll be down in Newark at Red Saw Gallery meeting up with Jeanne Brasile and Asha Ganpat. Jeanne wants me to meet Asha and also to see the work of a friend of hers named Alex who is showing at 27 Mix.

The only unfortunate thing about this is I'll have to miss the opening of Eric Zener at Gallery Henoch. On a previous trip in the gallery was open because some poor underpaid guy was working late and I got to see a couple of Eric's paintings. And they're really fantastic if you like photorealism, which of course I do.

Glen Hansen has some fantastic looking paintings, and I can't wait to see what he's up to these days at the Fischbach Gallery, 210 Eleventh Avenue (between 24th and 25th Street).

James Lecce has some beautiful paintings which he apparently pours -- eat your heart out, Jackson! -- showing at McKenzie Fine Art, 511 West 25th Street.

No image for this one: "Media artist" Ben Rubin will be showing his "A Ticking Sound" at Bryce Wolkowitz Gallery. I have no idea what this will be aside from some kind of wacky multimedia (i.e. noise and blinking lights and stuff) thing, but I'm intrigued in spite of myself.

And finally, I'll admit it: I'm going to this show to pick a fight. Hank Willis Thomas' printouts of his puerile Photoshop manipulations look totally worthless and I only hope I have the guts to ask the director of Jack Shainman Gallery why they're wasting valuable wall space on such crap.

Christoph Schmidberger has one of the most annoying Websites I've seen in a while, but his paintings -- which look like he went crazy with an airbrush while on Viagra -- are almost certainly worth the trip. Even though there's nothing else to see on this particular Tuesday. Goff + Rosenthal, 537B West 23rd Street, 6-8pm.

Charles Bell is a photorealist whose paintings I'd love to see in person. Louis K. Meisel Gallery, 141 Prince Street, 6-8pm.

And Brian Alfred is doing some paintings which I'd call... Pop? Op? I have no idea. But they look good. Mary Boone, 541 West 24th Street, 6-8pm.

I'll be going to see Inka's opening with a friend, so if we can come to some kind of consensus, maybe we'll get to these others.