Viewing photography by artist Ariel Orozco is an opportunity to catch one’s breath and ponder in peace. It is difficult to know right away which direction to let those thoughts take, as sometimes the work is immediately provocative, as in the case of the topsy-turvy sleeping pattern. Other pieces lead to a different sort of reflection, such as the photo of the gravesite that reflects the sky, and possibly heaven, above. The photo of the paving stone on its own seems to make no sense until one sees the accompanying picture where there happens to be a stone missing.

More Ariel Orozco tomorrow. But not what you’re expecting.

Artist: Ariel Orozco
+ suzanne-tarasieve.com

Butterflies are free, or so it would seem as they become a form of artists' media. Lori Precious is an LA artist who creates mandalas out of butterfly wings and has recently focused on dead starlets, noting that they usually get more obituary press than people who may have made weightier contributions to society. Precious often re-creates stained glass windows and sets them into stainless steel, highlighting the contrast between strength and fragility.

Artist: Lori Precious
+ loriprecious.com

Oh, it all starts innocently enough. Attracted to the pretty colours, the viewer leans in and says, “Oh, what marvelous butterflies! How beautiful!” And then the questioning begins. “Wait a minute, are those real butterflies?” Well, of course they are. This is Damien Hirst we are talking about. Lots and lots of real butterflies, all ever so carefully applied to paint. Hirst’s latest pieces take their titles from a combination of Philip Larkin poems and religious iconography, although Hirst claims he was more influenced by Victorian tea trays than stained glass windows. Nonetheless, Superstition, the exhibition that is taking place concurrently in London and Los Angeles, is all gothic arches and rose windows. And controversy. Of course.

More butterflies tomorrow.

Artist: Damien Hirst
+ calendarlive.com

I Want to Spend the Rest of My Life Everywhere, with Everyone, One to One, Always, Forever, Now by Damien Hirst is as jam-packed with ideas (and we know he is all about the concept), projects, text and artwork as the title leads us to believe. This is a new edition and small format of version of the original 1997 edition, full of special effects (pop-ups, gatefolds, magnifying glass), but luxurious even without. All in all, very flash, very Hirst – all design and production. Those in the Hirst camp will love it, and some outside may be seduced.

Hardcover, 336 pages. Booth-Clibborn, 2006. $60.00 at Amazon.

+ Damien Hirst at Amazon

The first New York exhibition of Tree, an interactive presentation by Dutch designer Simon Heijdens and presented by slowLab wraps up Feb. 26th at the Westbeth Center. A 30-ft tall silhouette is projected in light onto the building, reliant on the gradual darkness in order to come to life. Real wind will cause virtual branches to sway and leaves of light to swirl on the sidewalk. Ambient sound and movement will affect the tree’s performance and changes.

Antwerp artist Karin Hanssen’s paintings are soft, yet lush, depictions of ordinary life through a vintage filter. Hanssen has a knack of inviting the mundane to take on a romantic air. The people in her work look like characters acting out their roles between the pages of a book. Even drawings that span the last ten years evoke a nostalgia through their shades of grey. There is a depth to this artist’s work, and it would be foolish to equate its peacefulness to banality.

Gillian Carnegie’s paintings may seem conventional, but the skill employed to bring them to fruition is what is more remarkable. Mood and atmosphere are set by the painterly strokes and subdued tones that make up both the more representational pieces like the Cemetary Gate or some of the flowers, and those that are more abstractions. Some, such as Maison Merlin, lay in between. Of note amongst the subjects employed by Carnegie is the somewhat textbook range of topic (still life, landscape, nude, abstract, representational) that is unusual in its lack of surprises.

Artist: Gillian Carnegie
+ andrearosengallery.com

Cosmic Hostess (a moniker that surely refers to the artist’s approach and not just her depictions of cupcakes) Lorraine Peltz serves up more daydreams and dance cards in her new works, all lush paintings with a feminine edge to counter the deceptive softness brought about through the fruit and flowers. Strolling legs are on a quest through supposed greener pastures and afternoon delights, while unfilled speech bubbles compete to fill unseen dance cards under a trio of ornate chandeliers. More bonbons are lurking at the artist’s new website.

Artist: Lorraine Peltz
+ lorrainepeltz.com

Paul Pagk’s simple and colourful abstracts are part of the artist’s serial use of dense colour overlayered with linear shapes that appear too delicate to compete with the power of the strong colour underneath. The softer shades, like pink, pistachio and periwinkle, are sliced with acid yellows and red, while the bolder reds and lime greens show the less significant colours of the lines and shapes who is boss without getting away scot-free. But it is precisely this non-too-perfectly rendered contrast that keeps the viewer’s attention and lends something of the artist’s spirit to the canvas.

Artist: Paul Pagk
+ motihasson.com

A huge exhibition covering eight prominent Brazilian street artists just opened at the Jonathan LeVine Gallery in New York and runs through March 17th. Ruas de São Paulo features video footage of site-specific works in Brazil and artist interviews, in addition to a number of paintings and mixed-media pieces that represent this non-traditional genre that is such a reflection of Brazil’s contemporary urban reality. These artists, and others like them, are beautifying an ever-changing São Paulo where poverty-driven vandalism is evolving into a more acceptable aesthetic.

Artists: varied
+ jonathanlevinegallery.com

Although this is more of a gift item than an art book per se, the paperback is a handy reference to the work of Joseph Cornell. It serves nicely as an introduction to this artist who created dioramas in shadow boxes from the ephemera of every day. Cornell incorporated tiny treasures into 3D collages, and this book comes along with some project ideas for the budding Cornell in everyone. It also makes a lovely accompaniment to Martin Sloane by Michael Redhill, an excellent and moving work of fiction based on an enigmatic Cornell-like character.

Paperback, 80 pages. Cider Mill Press, 2006. $17.22 at Amazon.

+ The Joseph Cornell Box at Amazon

Paperback, 288 pages. Back Bay Boooks, 2002. $13.95 at Amazon.

+ Martin Sloane at Amazon