When was the last time you brushed up on your human anatomy repertoire? No, not that kind of human anatomy, we're talkin' old-fashioned science. Second Skin, a new cutting-edge installation, combines forward-thinking art with the basics of the human body (think Bodies for the non-tourist set). Co-curators Victoria Bartlett and Renée Vara explore their fascination with muscular anatomy and human skin by inviting 15 prestigious artists to interpret the idea of the body in their own unique way. The result is a visually stimulating avant-garde exhibition that will certainly get you touching thinking.

Bartlett and Vara are complementing the opening of the exhibit with the release of INPUT #4: Second Skin, the latest edition of Vara's nonprofit art journal, which combines all of the artists' submissions into one cohesive body of work. The installation debuts at VPL in Soho this Friday and runs through the end of July, which means you have plenty of time to get up close and personal with the, ahem, anatomy.


VPL, 5 Mercer Street (between Canal and Grand Streets); 646-912-6141.

Photo: Courtesy Second Skin