Michael Joo "the essence of taste . . . " 2006 MSG with mixed materials 112" x 70" x 16" [large detail of installation]

Liz Larner smile, this is a pipe 2006 cast and hand-built porcelain 8.5" x 15.5" x 4" [installation view]

In a delightful mix of good humor and good art, all in the good taste appropriate to the holiday season, Leslie Tonkonow is hosting an exhibition which flashes the provocative title, "THE BONG SHOW or This Is Not a Pipe".

The press release tells us that the curator, Beverly Semmes,

wondered what would happen when serious artists contemplated a culturally-marginal object (a bong, for example) and decided to invite a group of her peers to do just that. This show is about testing the limits of art and craft, public and private, high and low, and going with the flow.

The artists who accepted the challenge, providing a huge range of responses, are Ann Agee, Nicole Cherubini, Anne Chu, Maria Elena Gonzalez, David Herbert, Michael Joo, Byron Kim, Liz Larner, Charles Long, Rita McBride, Josiah McElheny, John Miller, Curtis Mitchell, Elaine Reichek, Jack Risley, Aura Rosenberg, Allen Ruppersberg, Beverly Semmes, Arlene Shechet, Brian Tolle, Ursula von Rydingsvard, Kara Walker, Betty Woodman, and Arnie Zimmerman.