Opening next week: Bogdan Luca and bits from The Tie Breaker

New Year's is, theoretically, is all about new beginnings, and man, do I ever need one here. So let's get started: In the post-holiday hangover, the art world is starting to wake up from its slumber as the gears grind slowly back into motion and things start to open again.

Take next week, for example, where Neubacher-Shor is hosting the opening night of a couple of shows I'm interested in.It's a nice pairing, in that they couldn't be more different: One is a show of Bogdan Luca's dynamic, gestural figure paintings, and the other a selection of items culled from probably the most memorable installation at Nuit Blanche last year, Geoffrey Pugen and Tibi Tibi Neuspiel's The Tie Break.

What these things might be, I'm not sure; what I am sure of is both their sincere devotion to the classic 1980 tie-breaker between John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg, who Pugen (above) and Neuspiel portray, respectively, and re-play, shot by shot. The experience of watching them play out in the cold night air, perfectly choreographed, never missing a step, was riveting, dislocating and enthralling. How they'll bring that inside on the walls, I'm not sure. But I'm game to find out.

Both shows open Jan. 11 at 6 pm, Neubacher Shor, 5 Brock St.