Slick surfaces seemed pretty common around Chelsea this afternoon, as a brief stroll revealed the shiny dishes of Subodh Gupta, pearlescent paints in the Dillon gallery’s ‘ma’ exhibition, glossy bead installations of ‘Hidden Americana,’ and the friendly contours of anthropomorphized Vespa motorbikes created by Patricia Piccinini.

Also on view are the paintings of Tu Hongtao, which depict fantasy women as plastic dolls, and the engaging landscapes of Sven Kroner. See the art weekend photoset on flickr.

It was beautiful when we went outside this morning, so we drove with the top down to the MOCA and architectural attractions of Downtown LA (Disney Concert Hall and Cal-Trans building). There were a number of nice pieces in the surprisingly small MOCA gallery. A series of large paintings of paperback books called “Quick Picks” by Dave Muller (new to me) stood out. Also work by Wangechi Mutu’s collage and a small city carved in stone.

We climbed around the Gehry building for a little while, going opposite the flow of the audio tour according the signs we encountered. It was nice to be able to see some of the construction details from behind. Not so nice to see the carpeting inside.

We drove a bit farther on to Silverlake (top up – some rain) to grab lunch and see the Density Fields installation at M&A. I didn’t test the rope seating of the installation for long given the dampness of the material. Jenna Didier was out of town, so we missed out on the opportunity to say hello in person.

I made it to the opening of Brainwave at Exit Art this evening. A range of works were on display, from video to paintings, rapid-prototyping models, and electronics in the form of robots and environments.Reoderant (pictured) was a delightful installation by artist group SERU, with various nodes suspended in space by wires. Each node contained either a speaker or a fragrance, inviting viewers to wander through the piece, engaging each element in turn.

Fernando Orellana and Brendan Burns created a robot that followed sets of scripted behaviors based on the brain activity of Orellana during one night’s REM sleep. It had an appeal similar to that of the senster, albeit with a more humorous, anthropomorphic twist.

Naho Taruishi (my friend) exhibited “Close Your Eyes,” a work successful largely for the way it constructs a ritual for the audience to follow. Viewers look through a large peephole in a white box at a video screen flickering random colors at different speeds. What is enticing about this ritual is not knowing what to expect when you engage in it. Not only are you looking into an object to see what it contains, but you are also asked to close your eyes in front of the artwork. This double-disconnect, from both the viewer’s immediate surroundings and the artwork itself allows something outside ordinary visual experience to occur. Light becomes a marker of time, and that time becomes unreliable as it begins by flickering quickly and then slows to calm pulse. A long line formed in front of the work. I don’t know what each person saw when not-looking in the box, and that’s a large part of its appeal.Check out more images from the opening in the flickr set.

It’s once again the year of the rat. I took a floating holiday today to celebrate my zodiac sign properly. After a brisk walk across the Brooklyn Bridge, I enjoyed my afternoon in New York’s Chinatown. Temples, reached through dubious stairwells with myriad warnings that my actions were being recorded, provided me the opportunity to burn incense in honor of our ancestors and for good fortune in the coming year. On the street, tigers and dragons roamed freely, bestowing blessings on the wide range of shops that contribute to the bustle of Chinatown.

You can check out more photos from the day in the flickr set.

After work today I went to the Stefan Sagmeister opening at Deitch Projects with Andy. We met the man himself (well, he signed Andy’s poster at least), and got a good look at the banana wall, which was a little challenging to read. I’ll be back in a week to see the bananas all brown and altered. Check out more photos of the opening on flickr.