Artistic duo Nicholas Kahn and Richard Selesnick have a specialty matched by few contemporary artists. They create worlds — historical yet relevant, real yet fantastical — and document those worlds through staged photography, installation, and found objects. This is intellectual art at its best. Kahn and Selesnick’s most recent creation, Eisbergfreistadt, is on view at Irvine Contemporary until December 8, and tells the story of the post-World War I Baltic port town of Lubeck,…

Last week a little dose of relief came to the city’s art lovers and critics, as the National Gallery of Art announced they’ve filled the position to head up their department of modern art, vacant for around six months now. Harry Cooper comes to the NGA from the Harvard University Art Museums, and Washington City Paper’s Jeffry Cudlin does a good job putting it in perspective. In other museum news, camera-in-cell-phone technology is officially history….

The weather had better start behaving normally: we want a snow day! Now that there is a reason to be inside again, here are some places with interesting things lying around or hanging from the walls. The new season has officially begun. Make sure to check the gallery’s Web site for specific hours before visiting. THURSDAY: >> Baltimore artist Cara Ober will open a show of new work, Prayers and Joking, at Flashpoint (916 G…