Best of 2008

The vote is in!
By request, and in no particular order, our standout exhibitions and other things from around the planet in 2008.

Top 5 Exhibitions (International)
- Louise Bourgeois (Tate, Pompidou, Guggenheim NY, MOCA LA)
- Juan Muñoz Retrospective (Tate, Guggenheim Bilbao)
- Wolfgang Tillmans - 'Lighter' (Hamburger Bahnhof, Berlin)
- R. Buckminster Fuller - 'Starting with the Universe' (Whitney, NY)
- WACK! Art and the Feminist Revolution (MOCA LA and P.S.1 NY)
and... The Whitney Biennale

Top 5 Exhibitions (Australia)
- Biennale of Sydney
- Tim Hawkinson - 'Mapping the Marvellous' (MCA Sydney)
- Gordon Bennett Retrospective (NGV Melbourne, GOMA Brisbane, AGWA Perth)
- Ai Weiwei (SCAF Sydney and CRG, Campbelltown)
- Optimism (GOMA Brisbane)
- and not forgetting: Bill Viola: The Tristan Project (AGNSW and St Saviour's Church, Redfern) and 'Lines in the Sand' at Hazelhurst Regional Gallery, Sydney.

Top 5 commercial gallery shows (International)
- Cy Twombly 'Three Notes From Salalah' (Gagosian, Rome)
- Jake and Dinos Chapman (White Cube UK)
- Richard Serra (Gagosian UK and USA)
- Damien Hirst’s Sotheby’s auction
- Antoni Tapiès (Lelong Paris)

Top 5 commercial gallery shows (Australia)
- Stuart Ringholt (Anna Schwartz, Melbourne)
- Mitch Cairns (MOP, Sydney)
- Newell Harry (Oxley, Sydney)
- Guy Maestri (Tim Olsen, Sydney)
- Patricia Piccinini (Oxley, Sydney)

Top 5 English language movies
- Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (Sydney Lumet, USA)
- In Bruges (Martin McDonagh, UK)
- Burn After Reading (Coen Bros USA)
- The Visitor (Tom McCarthy, USA)
- Slumdog Millionaire (Danny Boyle, UK)

and La cânard award goes to:
- Australia (the movie) - for the movie most likely to acquire bad taste camp classic status

Top 5 English language novels
- The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (Junot Díaz)
- The Believers (Zoë Heller)
- Netherland (Joseph O'Neill)
- Breath (Tim Winton)
- What is the What? (Dave Eggers)

Heureuse nouvelle année, nos lecteurs.