So, how was your Christmas? What’s that? Mom dipped a bit heavily into the egg nog? Yeesh. Oh, your brother was visiting from Seattle—that’s nice. And he brought up the time you auctioned off his underwear on the first day of his freshman year? Oooh. Accused you of ruining his life, blaming you for his arson spree? Huh. Well. How was mine, you ask? Pretty much the same, actually. Virtually identical. What’s say we get out of the house so we won’t be around when those emotional vultures come to pick our bones clean: Let’s go see some art. Even better, let’s catch some shows that are wrapping up their run in the next week or so before we miss our chance. Hey … is that your dad peeking in the window, holding the new Balderdash: Biblical Edition? Hurry, man, hurry! Piedra, Papel, Lienzo y Tijeras: Contemporary Spanish Artists II at ArtHaus66 runs through Wednesday, Dec. 31. The invitational show highlights seven Spanish artists—all hailing from in and around the capital of Madrid—whose work ranges from whimsical to eruptive. ArtHaus66 is located northeast of San Pedro and Central and is open Tuesday through Saturday. 255-0872 or arthaus66.com.Also ending on Dec. 31 is Downtown’s 105 Studios ’ The Fly on the End of Your Nose, a Christmas Miscellany , paintings by Santiago Perez. His works hint at a narrative, if a profoundly surreal one, and evoke a kind of Maurice Sendak for grown-ups. 105 Studios is at 105 Fourth Street SW. Call 244-4148 for hours.Through Jan. 2 at the Jewish Community Center , see the photographic and pastel works of husband-and-wife team Bill Tondreau and Sylvia Ortiz Domney. Tondreau’s photos offer panoramic views of Albuquerque and northern New Mexico and are, according to Program Director Phyllis Wolf, “priced to sell.” Wouldn’t you much rather blow that holiday check from grandma on art instead of on a video game or your PNM bill? Find the JCC at 5520 Wyoming NE and at jccabq.org.Should your particular family dynamic necessitate leaving town, get to Santa Fe before A Chair for All Reasons at the International Folk Art Museum ends on Jan. 4. If you’ve never thought about chair design, consider how frenzied your office mates get when the guy with the good chair retires. As a bonus, through March 2009, Rail Runner riders who produce their ticket will get free admission. The International Folk Art Museum is on Museum Hill in Santa Fe. For more accurate directions, hours and exhibit information, go to moifa.org.Good luck. See you next year.
Culture Shock
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