The first annual ‘Erik Sommer’s Best of the Year’ award for 2012 goes to Ryan Sullivan’s show at Maccarone.

Honorable mention to Charles Ray’s show at Matthew Marks.

the event of a thread, Ann Hamilton’s show at the Park Avenue Armory, “draws together readings, sound, and live events within a field of swings that together invite visitors to connect to the action of each other and the work itself.”

Paola Ferrario’s show at Rick Wester Fine Art features “an intensely quixotic and obsessive catalogue of discarded, distended details painstakingly gathered like orphans amidst a crowd of clearer appeal.”

Henry Darger’s show at Ricco Maresca “brings together highly celebrated landscapes by the self-taught artist.”

David LaChapelle’s show at Paul Kasmin “addresses the fleeting nature of humanity, fame, celebrity and power.”

In Color, Fred Herzog’s show at Laurence Miller, “further expands the appreciation of the innovative and early color photographs made by this Vancouver resident.”

Artist’s Choice: Trisha Donnelly, at the MoMA, consists of “rarely seen 20th-century photographs, films, design items, architectural renderings, prints, drawings, paintings, and sculptures.”

Alice Channer’s show at Lisa Cooley closes December 23.

Ed Ruscha’s show at Gagosian “fully explores Ruscha’s obsession with books and language from the outset of his career.”