The candy show

Billy Leahy picks 'n' mixes at the Kerlin Gallery's latest group show, which features works from 20 different Irish artists

To put it simply: group shows are great. They stand as the art world's equivalent of a pick'n'mix section in a corner shop, providing little nuggets and samples of a wide variety of artists' work. Of course, there will always be the salty liquorice and candy-sours sections but then there will also be the gob-stoppers to chew over and the classic but mild-mannered bonbons that stand out and take your fancy.

They do have a slight and obvious drawback, however. They don't really allow for an in-depth look at one particular artist's work, but are more like one-liners or sound bites – exhibitions not designed for, but definitely suited to the low attention spans of the MTV generation.

The current show in the Kerlin brings together 40 works by almost 20 artists that the gallery represents, or those who will shortly have solo exhibitions at the space – so in a way, this is a showcase for the gallery. But for what is probably the best commercial gallery in Dublin, the current group show makes for interesting viewing.

A new video piece realised this year, entitled 'The Louder you Scream – the Faster we Go' by Phil Collins, opens the show in style, while new works from David Godbold provide a nice follow-up to his recent career-spanning exhibition Once It Was A Lie Now It Is The Truth. Godbold exhibited several "works in progress" in that show and the 14 pieces he contributes to the group show see what was then labelled as the "future" of his work become part of his present output. Again, Godbold exhibits works that ooze wit and charm with their combinations of classical drawings, sloganeering and scraps of discarded card and paper.

Siobhán Hapaska's two sculptural works, 'Sunlight' and 'The Way It Is' provide the next highlight of the exhibition. Hapaska's subject matter normally toys with the footloose notion of travel: there's a definite longing for an undefined and maybe unattainable "other place". Occupying the central space alongside Hapaska is a new work by Dorothy Cross, entitled 'Travel Case', which provides an interesting adjunct to her fascinating mid-career retrospective in IMMA this summer.

The other two artists that have so far been afforded similar shows in Kilmainham – Kathy Prendergast and Willie Doherty – are also present in the Kerlin's group show, providing testament to the quality of artist represented by the gallery. In short, the six new works from the London-based Prendergast are superb. The brightly-coloured maps taken from this year's 'Minnesota Map' series continue and further her personal exploration of themes such as identity and landscape, with the cartographies finding their point of origin with the artist herself.

The exhibition also provides the viewer with something to look forward to. One single work by renowned German artist Norbert Schwontkowski serves as a brief introduction before a solo exhibition at the space next year. Schwontkowski presents complete, internal, non-temporal and universal worlds through a quite reductionist language and a form of immense singularity. This is the first time any of his work has been shown in Ireland and it stands as a tantalising appetiser for his one-man exhibition in 2006.

More ? Anne's Lane, South Anne Street, Dublin 2. The Kerlin group show continues until 3 September. www.kerlin.ie