BY REQUEST is a subversive, humorous, and celebrity-obsessed show about the Washington, D.C. art world.

For the show, seven D.C. power players--collectors, curators, and critics--were asked to fill out surveys to determine their ideal works of art. These surveys were turned over to seven different D.C. artists who pledged to deliver custom pieces.

There was one small catch: The show's ringmaster, Jeffry Cudlin, insisted that he be depicted in every work of art, thereby transforming himself into the show's biggest celebrity. The resulting outlandish images feature cross-dressing, a severed pig's head, and a pair of fake latex breasts, courtesy of an FX makeup artist.

Best: Irvine Contemporary
Second-best: Flashpoint
Irvine Contemporary's openings this year were the glitziest by far, thanks entirely to Shepard Fairey. Fairey's magic touch brought in crowds for both "Regime Change Starts at Home" and "Manifest Hope," which boasted a Belvedere Vodka sponsor and a party from MoveOn.org. Second best, though, belongs to Flashpoint, which has become a total scene on opening nights. For each exhibit, a DJ sets up in the front of the gallery while people push past him to pack tightly into the space. Though each opening feels like reliving the crowds of inauguration weekend all over again, you'll never hear a soul complain--in fact, they'll wait in long lines in the cold to get in, as hundreds did for the recent "DCist Exposed" exhibit. That's because a Flashpoint opening is always different from the last, and never dull. For Cory Obendorfer's "Flavor of the Month," the gallery invited the roller dirby girls featured in the artist's work to skate around the opening. To match the artist's lollipops-and-gumdrops aesthetic, guests were invited to munch on Ring Pops and Laffy Taffy, or peanut butter and Wonder bread sandwiches. After an evening at Flashpoint, don't be surprised if your photo turns up on Brightest Young Things. 
--Maura Judkis

· Next week, we're super-excited about the opening of a show by young local artistCory Oberndorfer at the Gallery at Flashpoint. His giant candy-colored roller-derby girls filled the walls of the Katzen Art Center's two-story rotunda and hung in Artomatic's main music space last year. Catch more of his stuff -- he calls his high-rise ladies "indoor billboards" -- in his solo show, "Flavor of the Month" (are we sensing irony?), opening Jan. 9.

Free. Opening reception Jan. 9, 6-8 p.m.; show runs through Feb. 13. 916 G St. NW. 202-315-1310 or visithttp://www.flashpointdc.org.