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VISUAL ART:JOHN NOEL SMITH’s abstract paintings in his Pandectseries, at Hillsboro Fine Art, are beautiful things. Visually they’re not at all complicated. Central panels, inscribed with networks of cross-hatched linear marks of a single colour on a paler ground, are flanked by two flat-painted, monochrome panels. There are some variations and elaborations on this basic scheme, but not many. It might sound quite minimal and uninvolving, not something likely to offer much in the way of visual goodies.

Smith, though, is a felicitous painter. Recently, having been panned by the critics for his lack of painting ability, Damien Hirst has gone on the record to say painting is no big deal and anyone can learn to paint like Rembrandt. Maybe he’s thinking of pundit Malcolm Gladwell’s 10,000 hour rule, which stems from the observation that expertise to the level of virtuosity in any area is dependent on putting in 10,000 hours working at it. It’s quite likely that Smith, born in 1952 and painting full-time since his late teens, has put in many multiples of those 10,000 hours.