Art news

Melbourne Art Rooms are holding a special exhibition for all you lovers out there (cue cheesy late night radio voice). Take your Cuddly Wuddly/Pumpkin/ Sweetie  Pie etc along and immerse yourselves in beautiful work from 13 local artists - perhaps you'll even walk away with a present?

Andy Warhol has a famous name. Although it wasn't until I watched Factory Girl, that I became intrigued by the man who had painted Marilyn Monroe several times over in hyper-coloured boxes. For those who don't know me I am an obsessed Marilyn fan, so as cult-like as it is - I feel I have a duty to pay my utmost respects to Andy Warhol. After all, he did paint Marilyn in a whole new light. Anyway, I was driving past a bus stop the other morning and noticed Campbell's Soup tins on a poster. In an excited state I hastily pulled over and jumped out of my car to read the fine print of this poster. Yes - there was an Andy Warhol exhibition and no - it was not in Sydney! It is showing up in Brisbane at The Queensland Art Gallery - Gallery of Modern Art. I was quite distressed at this point. Muttering questions to myself like 'why would they advertise this in Sydney, when it's actually showing in Brisbane?'... blah blah. So after much diliberation I have resigned to the fact that due to insufficient funds and lack of time I am unable to go and admire the works of Andy Warhol. But I am hoping some of you have been, are going to or just may go to rub it in my face! Either way, I am seeking reviews. What I would give to see the 'marilyns'....

If you're looking for something stimulating to kick-off your working week, forgo the coffee and check out Old Trapeze instead. Just launched last week, the download publication is full of thoughtful writing, lovely poetry, quirky facts and amazing photography. The inaugral issue features an interview with world- wandering snapper  Mitchell kanaskevich and a suprisingly morish story on society's yo-yoing relationship with milk. Delicious and nutritious.

Mashed potato, ninja stars and staghorn ferns are just some of the unorthadox materials used in Disruptive Colouration; a collection of sculptural works from installation artists Sean Cordeiro & Claire Healy. The exhibition is being hosted at the Waterloo's GBK art space and - as it co-incides with the official unveiling of GBK's bigger, better gallery - will be opened by Sydney MCA director, Elizabeth Ann MacGregor on February 12.

Sydney's Chalkhorse Gallery has experienced a recent growth spurt and will be making good use of it's two new levels on Thursday with three fantastic Solo Exhibitions. It's a Nuthouse is artist Raquel Welch's "Hall of Fame of crackpots and lunatics". Inspired by her obsession with extreme characters in American pop culture, Welch's show is cartoonish and slightly creepy - featuring hand-stitched portraits of Pee Wee Herman and Dolly Patron. Jelena Telecki's Rekonstrukcija is a visual attempt at recovering and re-examining memories; her paintings incorporate pre-war family snapshots and found photographs. Lastly, Jessica Tyrrell presents Tactile: a video installation that renders and reflects the experience of Blindness. All exhibitions open 6pm Thursday.

As a twenty-something you can generally expect your living zone to range from a room in a crowded share-house to a shoebox-sized studio; making what there is of your personal space very precious indeed - and one not to be cluttered with boxy, extraneous furnishings. Melbourne designer Dusko Lapcevic has acknowleged the space contsraints faced by nesting Gen Y’ers with the Dusko Collection from Smith Furniture range; a trio of multifunctional pieces that saw him take out the inaugral young designer furniture award in 07. Consisting of a sofa (as shown above), a day bed and a chair, the range is completely Australia made; utilising allergy friendly Dunlop foam for versatility and Warwick microsuede for a timeless and adaptable finish. As well as being easy on the eye (and back!) the Dusko collection is also wallet friendly, meaning you can spend both your space and your dosh on the things that young people should be.

While studying in Berlin Two years ago, artist Nadia Wagner met Christophe Laudamile; a perfumer for fragrance giant International Flavours and Fragrances. Having worked with scent in the fields of high fashion and couture, Laudamile introduced Wagner to a realm of fragrance production that goes beyond the limits of commercialism (does that include "Curious' by Britney Spears?) Now Nadia has used that knowledge in producing her first solo show "Urban Olfactics 1A/1B". In curatorial collaboration with Joel Mu, Urban Olfactics is a collection of conceptual fragrances alchemized by Nadia in an attempt to capture different aspects of the urban environment. Confused? Fascinated? Find out what it’s all about TONIGHT ONLY, from 6pm at Sydney’s Blank Space gallery.