Four essential visual art exhibitions to see in Ireland this week

Traveller Collection, Bower, Stampa Ora and Still.Life, and a portrait prize you can enter


Still. Life
A group exhibition; Wexford Arts Centre, Cornmarket, Wexford; Until July 14th; wexfordartscentre.ie
Too easily dismissed, the genre of still life has produced art of great richness and variety throughout the centuries. Here, a number of artists based in the South East exemplify distinctive personal approaches, from traditional to radical. They are Amanda Doran, Maria Levigne, Martin Redmond, Mary-Ruth Walsh, Patricia Robinson and Tony Robinson.

Traveller Collection
Seamus Nolan; Dublin City Gallery; The Hugh Lane, Parnell Square, Dublin; Until September 22nd; hughlane.ie
Through engagement with Traveller communities, activists and archivists, Seamus Nolan's project takes the form of "an exploration of what a Traveller collection or a Traveller specific museum might be and how it would be managed and maintained by Travellers."

Bower
Cliona Doyle; Graphic Studio Gallery, off Cope Street, Temple Bar, Dublin; Until July 5th; graphicstudiodublin.com/exhibition/bower/
Cliona Doyle's vivid, botanically inspired printworks are derived from close observation. She is interested "in the significance of trees as a symbol of protection and the garden as a place of refuge and renewal." There's something of the immediacy of Oriental art to her beautiful studies drawing on such locations as the Hill of Tara, the National Botanic Gardens, the West of Ireland and private gardens throughout the country.

Stampa Ora / Print Now
Historic Print and Watercolour Room, Crawford Art Gallery, Emmet Place, Cork; Until August 18th (and from August 30th to October 14th at the Garter Lane Arts Centre, Waterford); crawfordartgallery.ieCollaborative touring venture by Cork Printmakers and the Italian National Association of Contemporary Engravers. 12 Italian and 12 Irish printmakers, their work selected by Giorgio Marini (the Italian artists) and the NGI's Anne Hodge (Irish artists). All exhibited work is new, with two pieces by each artist.

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Zurich Portrait Prize 2018
The deadline for submissions to the Zurich Portrait Prize at the National Gallery of Ireland (previously the Hennessy Portrait Prize) is June 22nd. With a cash prize of €15,000 plus a portrait commission worth a further €5,000, it is, for any portrait artist, in any medium, well worth entering. This year's jury has just been announced: painter Geraldine O'Neill, writer Sue Rainsford and Gallery of Photography Director Tanya Kiang. Shortlisted works will be exhibited at the gallery from October next.