A strong start

MICHAEL Mulcahy spent some months this summer/autumn in Cill Rialaig, where the rocky coast, the skies, the Atlantic and the proximity of the Skelligs triggered off a flow of work from which his latest exhibition is chosen. These are works on paper, using oil paint but sometimes incorporating novel effects, such as soaking the paper beforehand (a trick well known to watercolourists). Though they vary in approach and subject, they give an immediate impression of being the products of a single, concentrated experience and of a sustained bout of energy/excitement/inspiration.

The mention of watercolour is not fortuitous, since these paintings were all done on the spot, and outdoors. They have an air of utter spontaneity and, according to the artist, are all once off works - that is to say, as with watercolours, they must "come off" at the first attempt, or they fail. There is no second chance.

The Skelligs appear and reappear, steep, black and dramatic; so do cliff faces stretches of strand, vistas of open sea and, of course, spectacular skies. The wet, glowing, sometimes transparent colour is shot with broken tones and gleams, suggesting salt air and wind and moving skies and seas. Forms and shapes are simple, even elementary, but with an intuitive sense of placing and balance.

The Cill Rialaig Project Gallery - to give it its official title - is a new one, on St Stephen's Green immediately over the Aer Lingus office. Whatever its long term future - may prove to be, it has got off to a strong start.