The missing heart in group art

SOMEHOW the heart seems to have gone out of group exhibitions; nobody can tell you exactly why. Has the "theme" exhibition replaced them? It seems an inadequate explanation - thematic shows can be monochrome, even dull, and they are rarely popular. Too many galleries, then? There has been a proliferation of galleries in Dublin for 20 years, but ultimately this seems to stimulate public interest, not to lessen it. Meanwhile, events such as Figurative Image and the Independent Artists have had no real successors - not to mention the Living Art itself. Boyle and Claremorris bravely. keep going, of course, but in Dublin there is an apparent vacuum.

The Oireachtas Art Exhibition continues to appear every year, for which it deserves some praise, but nowadays it lacks excitement, or even a definite character of its own. This year's show is better than its predecessor, and two large rooms of the Hop Store provide reasonable space, though the lighting is not ideal (a large, vigorous, impastoed landscape by Michael Kane is an obvious casualty of this). The Oireachtas also still awards prizes, which again is to be commended.

There is rather a shortage of name artists, though Tony O'Malley makes a token appearance and there are various sculptures by John Behan. Brian Bourke contributes a vigorous landscape, Michael Ashur shows a typical head-on, Space Age painting in acrylic, and there is a good small Charles Brady.

Bernie Masterson's sizeable imaginative Go dti'n Dromchla is one of the better paintings; Mary Catherine Nolan's back view of a woman is also forceful. Other pictures which rise above tameness are by Mary Rose Binchy, Maire Gartland, Aidan Bradley, Ailis Codd, Billy Grace, Sheila Pomeroy, Louise Peat, Gearoid O Cathasaigh, Fidelma O'Neill; the very accomplished prints of Pia Rossi and Andrew Folan, and Ruth Ni Fhiacraigh's strong woodcut An Clochan are also noteworthy.

One major surprise is a large canvas from Noel Sheridan, entitled Demeter. Colourful, intricate and ambitious, it vaguely resembles a large stage set, and though I thought there were some incoherent areas, it did suggest an original personality at work.

There is a fair amount of sculpture, though it is generally conventional and unadventurous. John Behan is rather repetitious these days, but he still stands out, and Henry Pim's imaginative Ballaphiosa shows originality. Michael Duhan, John, Coen (always consistent and individual), Jim Gannon, Sadie Monks, Brid Ni Rinn, Alison Brent, Melissa Diem, Ciaran O Cearnaigh all maintain a decent level, though there is very little which is really memorable.

Which, unfortunately, is true of most of the exhibition, but at least the Oireachtas does keep trying and keeps going, so good fortune attend it.