Sinéad Ní Mhaonaigh

West Cork Arts Centre, North St, Skibbereen Aug 28-Sep 25 028-22090

Sinéad Ní Mhaonaigh’s paintings are usually poised between austerity and luxuriance. Structurally they are often spare and concise, featuring simplified geometric motifs, but their surfaces are luscious, consisting of thick coats of rich oil pigment, beautifully textured. Her colours are carefully pitched, strong but restrained, and she likes creamy whites and mid-greys. Those spare motifs can be momentarily deceptive. Give them a minute and aspects of the world come to mind. Often in the past she has referred to several kinds of social, communal spaces associated with ritual and performance: the stage or platform, the sports field or stadium. Usually, although such sites relate to community and events, they are unpopulated, so that we are set at one remove from belonging, even as the paintings hold out a utopian possibility.

Can’t See That? Catch This

TP Flanagan “a haunter of demesne and ditchback. . .”/

A Walk through a Sculptor's GardenFE McWilliam Gallery and Studio, Banbridge 048-40623322