by Carol Markel

Home Is Where the Art Is

Lisa Dahl’s “There’s No Place Like Home” at the Abrons

he Abrons Art Center invites us to ruminate on the multiple meanings of home in the exhibition At Home: Visions of Our Place in the World. Curator Lois Stavsky invited 21 artists to offer their personal biases on the theme, weaving in homey ideas such as the mystery behind facades, symbols of stability, shifting cultural identity, and magical places that transform reality. In Lisa Dahl’s painting, “There’s No Place Like Home,” a boarded-up house floats on a sea of vintage wallpaper. Like Dorothy’s flying abode on its way to Oz, this house conjures a comfy domesticity and warm feelings for the way it was.

Abrons Art Center, Henry Street Settlement, 466 Grand Street, 212-598- 0400, reception: Thur. 1/6, 6-8, gallery open: Tue.- Sat. 10-6, through 3/1.

Cardboard MoMA

bet you think the Museum of Modern Art is that modernist building that’s just been restored in polished granite up on 53rd Street. Well, yeah. But there’s another MoMA, where the trustees keep their dirty little secrets, and that MoMA is made out of cardboard. You can visit the other MoMA at the Silo Gallery, where Patrick Grenier created a cardboard model of the museum with 15 dioramas based on anecdotes about odd moments in MoMA’s history. The “Vincent Van Gogh’s Blockbuster Ear” window shows a 1935 Van Gogh exhibit where a hoaxer left a beef jerky “ear” atop a velvet pedestal. The exhibit includes two short films and an installation called “Make Room for Dada.” Grenier investigates the incompatibility of art and architecture, but you don’t need a Ph.D. in metaphoric displacement to get a kick out of this exhibit.

Silo Gallery, 1 Freeman Alley (off Rivington between Bowery and Chrystie), 212-505-9156, Wed.- Sun . 12-6, open 1/4-1/16.

It’s Pig Guts, for Tripe’s Sake

Accessorizing with chickenskin: photograph by Pinar Yolacan

erishables, an exhibition of photographs at Rivington Arms, will probably make your skin crawl. Pinar Yolacan’s portraits of women are confrontational: their subject is literally “raw.” Working against a deadline of imminent decay, the artist created individual garments for each woman made from tripe (the lining of an animal’s stomach) and chicken parts. In some cases, the innards are pairedwith fabric as in one photo where a silk blouse is accessorized with a chicken-skin cravat.

Ms.Yolacan is interested in the impermanence of things such as the transitory nature of flesh. Her photographs are disturbing but also quite riveting. And they are an ironic comment on fashion, a subject she spent time studying in London. She is an inventive artist with a razor-sharp imagination. For the other side of the pelt, so to speak, travel up to the MoMA to see WILD: Fashion Untamed, an exhibition featuring animal skins in fashion.

Rivington Arms, 102 Rivington Street, 646-654-3213, Wed.- Fri. 11-6, Sat. & Sun 12-6, through 1/21.

Salon Style

n late 19th century France, the Royal Academy hung shows “salon style” in great rooms with paintings stacked on brocade walls. Today we also have salonstyle art, in a salon, where they cut hair. At Fringe, get a chic cut with Amy or Savannah and see the acrylic collages of K8 Russell as well. Ms. Russell is obsessed with materials, and she creates shiny collages out of unlikely substances such as dirt, cocoa powder and macro pearl.

Fringe, 96 Orchard Street, 212-674- 8383, Tues.- Fri. 12-8, Sat. 10-7, through 1/20.

A Book Not Too Far

ow residents of the Lower East Side have a wider choice of books than the paperbacks at Rite Aid. McNally Robinson, a Canadian bookseller, has opened a 7,000-square-foot shop at 50 Prince Street between Mulberry and Lafayette. A recent visit found a wellstocked, pleasantly appointed store where browsing is invited and chairs are provided for perusing. There’s even a tea room to while away a literary afternoon. Store owner Susan McNally plans to serve the Lower East Side with special sections devoted to local small publishers and foreign language books.

Asian American Arts Centre Faces Eviction

elebrating its 30th anniversary, the Asian American Arts Centre, which promotes Asian American culture in Lower Manhattan, is working with the Committee to Revitalize and Enrich the Arts and Tomorrow’s Economy in Chinatown to build a major cultural facility. Until that facility becomes a reality, AAAC calls 26 Bowery home. New York loft laws have allowed AAAC to function with affordable rent, but now it faces eviction. AAAC is mounting a legal battle to retain its space and is appealing to the public for help. For more information, go to www.artspiral.org or call 212-233-2154.