Pallas, Dublin

That empty glass and stone building on Dublin's north quays near the IFSC is the temporary home to 20 artists exhibiting together for the first time in seven years. Billy Leahy takes a look and finds a much needed and unique show: By Diverse Means We Arrive at the Same End

Through the gleaming glass and steel skeleton of Conservatory 1 in chq, a curious, makeshift chipboard hoarding is plainly visible. It is a slightly incongruous match, especially when it becomes apparent that this apparently rough and ready wall is host to the majority of works in By Diverse Means We Arrive at the Same End, the new exhibition by Dublin artists' group, Pallas Studios. The show, which is the first time members of the group will exhibit together in seven years, brings together the work of 20 artists in typical Pallas style; there is no curator, no ideological criteria... no theme.

A brief declaration, "this is a different kind of art exhibition – this is not meant as an egotistical statement," adds to the slightly antagonistic but definitely spirited feeling. Pallas, if truth be told, have never been ones for convention or easy assessment – and even the crude chipboard walls, it turns out, are part of a designed and constructed space that has evolved through an interpretation of the exhibition's environment and has in turn been reacted to by the exhibiting artists.

Founded in 1996 by Brian Duggan and Mark Cullen in an old factory space on Foley Street in Dublin's inner city (Pallas appropriated their name from the previous tenants), Pallas set about garnering a reputation for producing edgy and varied art with a strong attitude and self-belief. 2006, it appears, will be a big year for the artist-run space; not only does it mark their tenth anniversary, but it also signals their departure from their original premises nestled in behind Talbot Street. An exhibition is planned to mark this event in April, but with three other spaces dotted around the capital, the show seems to be based around a certain sense of sentimentality (and well earned too) than anything else.

By Diverse Means We Arrive at the Same End, however, is an interesting creature in itself. Seldom do exhibitions boldly declare not only that they have not been curated and have no theme, but that if a theme had been imposed, it would have turned the exhibition into a vehicle for ego. According to Pallas, By Diverse Means is set apart because it "is not the result of an exhaustive and elaborate set of ideological criteria that has been met, or the culmination of a curator's taste, status, perspective or target-audience" – the artist has been handed ultimate freedom.

In not imposing a theme or placing any barriers to participation (though only artists renting a space in Pallas Studios are involved) it was hoped that the show would be "a reflection of the variety of art and art practitioners working in Dublin today". It is a grandiose claim, indeed, and one that almost fully works – but with just 20 artists from one artists' group it is impossible to reflect the full diversity of art in Dublin. Perhaps this is as close as one show can get – this is the tiny, non-institutionalised version of the RHA annual exhibition.

By Diverse Means takes us through the full gamut of artistic media from Brendan Flaherty's oil on acrylic portraits to Eilis McDonald's stunning participatory instillation to Gustavo Barbosa's photographic series "The subtle difference between black and white" and Brian Duggan's DVD piece "HDBike". There has always been a distinct freshness about the output from Pallas Studios and even after more than 100 artists have passed through its doors over the past decade, this still holds true. Pallas is a unique and still much needed idea in Dublin.

By Diverse Means We Arrive at the Same End runs from 11 February to 26 March 2006 at chq, IFSC, Docklands, Dublin 1

? More: www.pallasstudios.org