Terror and the sublime; Art in an age of anxiety

Crawford Art Gallery, Emmet Place, Cork Until Feb 27 021-4805042

Terror and the Sublimehas a good idea at its heart: linking the multiple threats and terrors of our own age of anxiety with the Romantic evocation of the overwhelming sublime. But that's not all: the show aims to provide something of a map through the minefield. "The central message . . . is that prognostications of doom and gloom are nothing new." It is "a curiously optimistic exhibition, highlighting not the obstacles and disasters facing humanity, but rather the capacity of people to survive adversity".

Among the highlights – or, given the subject matter, should that be lowlights? – are American artist Jim Sanborn's Critical Assembly, a sculptural inventory of the ingredients that make an atomic bomb; Clare Langan's post-apocalyptic speculations; Francis Danby's rehearsal of a typical Casper David Friedrich motif; and many more outstanding works by a formidable line-up of artists past and present.

CAN'T SEE THAT? CATCH THIS

Picturing New York, Irish Museum of Modern Art, Kilmainham, Dublin Nov 25- Feb 7 01-6129900