1.16.2002 Collision Drive exhibition, Alan Suicide (Vega) Just like the remarkable music he has continued to create as one half of New York punk pioneers Suicide over three decades, Alan Vega's sculptures are as intense, challenging and radical as ever. Collision Drive, an exhibition which runs through February 23rd at the Deitch Projects in New York's SoHo district,is not so much a rediscovery of Vega as modern sculptor, but an extremely respectful nod to all of his art and influence by the gallery's Jeffrey Deitch, who first met Vega as a 'worshipful fan' at Max's Kansas City in 1974. The pair were reacquainted last year when, Deitch discovered "Alan was still making art and had never stopped, even though he was so absorbed in his music that he hadn't walked into an art gallery in years." It is difficult to view the works in Collision Drive in individual terms when the collection seen as a whole leave such an arresting and powerful impression (a good reason to get to the Deitch now. Some of the works have already been sold) But, it seems, we must. Some of the installations, which bear titles such as American Supreme (there are 1, 2 and 3 American Supremes), Crucifix Gun, Purple Heart, Black Planet and Toopak (great Suicide song title ideas, I may say) have been reconstructed, while some are entirely new products of the weird and wonderful Vega mind. Myriad wires are coiled on the floor or hung on high, evoking human entrails, from the the walls, most in cruciform, and adorned with colored bulbs and detritus such as clipped and faded magazine pictures of sportsmen (Mike Tyson, football players. A jockey) and cigarette lighters. One piece has four small, empty Smirnoff bottles tidily bound together by wire, with a phallic, white bulb protruding toward the viewer. It's heady stuff and, as Jeffrey Deitch notes, "It is rare that an exhibition can be simultaneously historic and forward looking." Collision Drive is free admission, and the price tags on the works range from $6,000 to $20,000. In conjunction with the exhibition, Suicide will perform at CBGB, New York, on Friday, January 25. Collision Drive, Deitch Projects, 76 Grand St., between Greene and Wooster Sts., New York (212 343-7300) Tues-Sat noon - 6pm - David Candler