I don't want to write only about war. Here are some recent art exhibits I've seen, plus a future recommendation. Some of the shows have already closed.

• Jeff Burton at Casey Kaplan: Trust me it was great. Casey Kaplan has a lousy website without images. There was a good article on it in HX of all places -- but I can't find it online. The whole photo shoot consisted of him spending 10 minutes with a go-go boy, Kevin, in a gay strip club in New Orleans. Kevin is wearing a red velveteen thong, white socks, and Bass Weejuns.


• Larry Mantello - "Box Rap" at Henry Urbach -- an installation of kitsch, patriotic and otherwise


• Type A at Sara Meltzer


• Group show at John Connelly, including Wade Guyton -- no web site!


• Öyvind Fahlström at Feigen -- brillliant Scandinavian/Brazilian conceptualist whose work seems decades ahead of its time


• Doug Wada at Elizabeth Dee -- semi-photo-realistic paintings, especially for the fans and air conditioners


• Holly Coulis at LFL Gallery -- This gallery is a consistent favorite, especially for work of interesting young painters

The future recommendation is Jules de Balincourt, opening at LFL in May. When we were there on Saturday to decide on buying a couple of works, having seen the work when visiting to see the Holly Coulis exhibit, the back was buzzing with people looking at his work. While we were there a collector/critic and a good artist stopped by to check out his work.