Although it opened way back in November, it took me until yesterday to get to the Flag Art Foundation to check out artist Cary Kwok’s latest show, Obsession – mainly because the gallery’s minimal hours have kept me from getting all the way over to West 25th Street and 11th Avenue on a week day. Thank god that Flag has Saturday hours, because I really would have hated to miss such a fantastic and unusual exhibit!

Cary Kwok is a London-based artist known for his creative, intricate drawings done in blue ballpoint pen. Obsession begins with a series of fashion sketches that highlight Kwok’s amazing talent for capturing the inimitable texture of complicated hairstyles, and the details and richness of his drawings are unbelievable. More than half of the drawings are Kwok’s glamor illustrations, but the exhibit also features a sizable number of his homoerotic drawings – including a collection of phalluses as well as iconic Superheroes shown in the throes of self-gratification – and these are really something to see.

The year is young, but Obsession is surely going to be among my favorite exhibits of 2011, and I’m adding Cary Kwok to my list of artists whose work I’ll be keeping an eye on. Obsession was curated by fashion designer Prabal Gurung, who did an impressive job of gathering so many works from privately owned collections. High fives all around on this one.

Cary Kwok’s Obsession is on Exhibit through January 29, 2011 at Flag Art Foundation, Located at 545 W 25th St, 9th floor (Just East of 11th Ave). Gallery Hours are Wednesday to Saturday, Noon to 5:00 PM.