Israeli artist Avner Ben Gal likes to investigate human nature. He’s depicted many themes in the past: poverty, natural disasters, relationships among people, religion, and the state. Now, in his latest solo show at the Bortolami Gallery, Ben Gal checks out opiates through larger than life marker drawings and his more traditional pathway, painting.  You’ll see a bird woman in a shower and in another, a female with back turned surrounded by menacing bird headed men in a tub. Could this be a hallucination? Likely, and then there are more direct symbols, like the white fleshy arm, wrapped tightly with black gear. Obviously, he just shot up.

The marker prints depict hysteria, as well as highs and with drawl. The paintings take the viewer into a dreamier less threatening landscape. All in all, true to form, Ben Gal brings you directly to the characters in his canvas. Even if they snub you while you’re there, there’s a definite point of entry and intrusion into their experience.

Check it out, until December 24th, at Bortolami Gallery, 520 West 20th Street, NYC.

(**For those in the UK, Ben Gal is also repped on that side of the pond by the Sadie Coles Gallery.)

My favorite thing about the holiday season is the time it allows us for catching up with family and friends. That joy is followed all too closely by the gorgeous gluttony of guilt-free shopping that starts around mid-November and lasts nearly to New Year’s!  I love buying gifts for others, but far too often end up indulging in a ‘one for you, two for me’ pattern. Ah well, the more the merrier this time of year!

Since I know I’ll inevitably be ‘gifting’ myself more than I should (what would Santa say?!) I try to at least cross all my loved ones off the list first. This requires starting early! Thus, last weekend I began my annual gift quest on Bedford Avenue in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. A haven for independent boutiques, art markets, vintage stores and street vendors, it’s the perfect place to pick up unexpected presents. I think there are two routes you can go with gift-giving: either choose something you’d love to receive yourself (like an elegant coffee table book), or something you know the recipient would never splurge on for themselves (like a glittering piece of jewelry).

In Williamsburg, I love popping into Catbird for scented candles (the perfect hostess gift for every holiday party), sweetly tough accessories, and heavenly scents by DS&Durga (they make wonderful stocking stuffers!).  Next I head over to Ugly Luggage, a quirky antiques shop stocked with great vintage glassware and sixties martini sets (fun gifts for mom or my bachelor brother alike!). In between I like to thumb through the offerings from local street vendors ~ this time around I picked up an assortment of vintage toy dinosaurs to spray paint silver and use for dinner party décor (I think I’ll put place cards in their mouths, then send them home as party favors!), and an old photography book for my boyfriend. Then I make a sweep through the Artists & Fleas market, to pick out handmade baubles for my little sister. I finish things up at The Future Perfect, where I find a set of silver-plated playing cards for my dad ~ and a copy of ‘Apartment Therapy’s Book of Small, Cool Spaces’ for me!

After all, tis the season to indulge generously!!

XO
Kelly

Shots of folks around town: around Nolita, LES

No, it’s not the band Super Furry Animals! But rather, the gals and some guys about downtown are piling on the fur when it falls below 40 degrees Fahrenheit at night in Gotham city and I’ve seen some creative pieces. Check out the party girls — on in white mink and the other in lynx fur– and the dude in the fedora and beaver vest. Sometimes it’s fake fur like a leopard hat done like a pimp’s signature cap or a twenties style football coat. A good imitation still gives all the style without pissing off the animal rights folks.  But, any way you cut it, fur chubbies and mid coats are out in full force. They would perfectly pair with Hudson jeans and boots around NYC for a very seductive look.

Uffie performs tracks from her latest album, “Sex and Denim Jeans”

How could I resist checking out electro pop singer Uffie at Don Hill’s when her latest album — released this summer — is titled “Sex and Denim Jeans?” So I slid into one of my hottest pairs of skinny Hudson jeans and headed to the rock bar on Spring Street to check her out.

Born Anna Chaterine Hartley in Florida, she turns twenty three next month and she gave birth to a little girl last year at this time. She’s already divorced from French graffiti artist/party promoter, Andre Saraiva, but she still collaborates with her previous ex boyfriend DJ Feadz. She’s lived in Hong Kong, Paris, and Boca Raton Florida, so it’s safe to say Uffie represents a woman of the world even at a young age. And this latest album has really tracked ground, especially in Europe and the UK.  The track “Robot Oeuf” was featured in Pedro Almodovar’s movie “Broken Embraces.”  And her nick name — given by her father — means “Little Egg.”

“Sex and Denim Jeans” includes tracks with Pharrell Williams and the Rapture. The other night, a frigid one in the city, Uffie pulled some geek cool guy on the stage and encouraged him to get down. Looks like a chicken dance to me, but the crowd loved it. (See our exclusive Hudson video clips below!)

Just when we thought Victoria Bartlett’s sexy cross colored silk and cashmere tanks could only be found at ultra exclusive hard to find boutiques, Ms. Vicki opened up her first NYC outpost. And, unlike stuffy uptown cocktails, she placed three revolving deejays at the turntables and served strong hard liquor cocktails. VPL also showcased new star, troubadour/writer Zane Alan McWilliams (originally profiled in Fortnight Journal and whom Hudson featured in an exclusive video just last week).

Filmmaker turned pastry chef, Arden Wohl, played co-host and she offered that in the future she’d like to design mini cup cakes with VPL lingerie painted on them in cream. Guests included The Last Magazine co-founders Magnus Berger and Tenzin Wild; Adi, Gabi, and Ange from ThreeAsFour; Hannelore on the turntables; and a host of downtown cool creatives.

Finally, I can now support my addiction to sexy VPL beaded and silky tops that look so good with all of my Hudson jeans. Together, they make for a perfect combination of strong, sexy, and feminine.

Check it out at VPL, 5 Mercer Street at Howard, NYC.

Selena Gomez spotted in Paris wearing the Collin Signature Skinny in Holt.

Sandra Bullock spotted in NY wearing the Collin Signature Skinny in Elm.

Amanda Seyfried seen in the May Five Pocket Skinny in Los Angeles.

Selena Gomez seen in London wearing the Collin Signature Skinny in Holt.

Kate Hudson spotted in NYC wearing the Signature Bootcut in Surrey.