THE Aer Rianta "Gateway to Art" exhibition at Dublin Airport is now held on the mezzanine floor, in a gallery with plenty of light but relatively limited hanging space. This is probably why in the last two years it has largely restricted itself to small or smallish works, both in painting and in sculpture not necessarily a liability in itself, though it rather limits variety or strong contrasts. Against that, selection is usually tasteful and intelligent, and after all there is much to be said for competent small works per se big is not necessarily beautiful.
The general tone and character are middle of the road, neither academic nor avant garde, but without being overly "safe" either. Neil Shawcross is a strong presence, witty, ultra painterly and with an almost Pop Arty sense of the topical. And Eithne Jordan, who for some time now has looked rather like a, painter who had lost her bearings, justifies her recent shift of style with small, delicate, subtly toned pictures of gardens and frees. Her New Expressionist phase is well behind her now, and she seems to have worked through to a new equilibrium.
There are two paintings by Basil Blackshaw, one of them a good and very typical female head, and Chris Wilson's faintly Gothic, almost spooky pictures are shedding their over graphic quality and speak more in terms of paint. Carey Clarke shows two sensitive small still lives, airy and skillfully composed. John Kelly's Theatre Figure is finely evocative, and I liked the brusque but sophisticated style of Clifford Collie. A variety of others including Bernie, Masterson, Marie Hanlon, Margaret, O'Hagan, Jane, O'Malley, Jackie Cooney, Helen Comerford all contribute to an overall quiet, even sense of quality.
The sculptures, ranged in a row facing the paintings and, graphic work, are predominantly bronzes, and again, the scale is usually small. On these terms, Melanie Le Brocquy's qualities flourish subtlety, understatement and soft but firm modelling are at the root of her considerable talent. John Coen, though working along a very different track, is also tailor made for this treatment.
Maighread Tobin's Barbed Spear in slate, the interesting, inventive works of David Kinane in stone and wood, Linda Brunker's skillful, slightly surreal bronzes, all have their distinctive personalities, though the first named, in particular, is better judged by a number of works rather than by a single one. The exhibition as a whole is well balanced, though this may be partly because it is relatively unambitious and, takes few chances. But that is not necessarily a criticism you take and enjoy it for what it is.
Closes tomorrow
