Josh Smith

Painter Josh Smith had a recent show at Luhring Augustine in NYC that art critic, Jerry Saltz, described as a "rush" and one of the bright spots in the current state of the arts. Smith's paintings are semi-abstract and often have primitive looking figures or even fish. While his paintings might be out of your recession/depression budget, you can pick up one of his limited edition artists books from Printed Matter for $300-$400. Usually done in editions of 30, the books are photocopies of sketchbooks. He also made a brilliant artist book last year that was a photocopy of the gallery sign-in book from his 2007 show at Luhring Augustine. The book is an interesting narrative of the art world told through signatures and comments, who came to the show and what they had to say. There is a deluxe version of this book in a signed edition of 100 plus 20 APS which includes a note by the gallery's associate director for $70.