The moment of truth

Temple Bar Gallery and Studios' current group exhibition provides a synopsis of the year in Irish art, during which the spotlight has definitely been on painting, says Billy Leahy

Appropriately in the United Nations Year of Physics and the centenary year of the publication of Albert Einstein's Theory of Relativity, the Irish art scene became quietly obsessed with the idea of time in 2005. Numerous exhibitions throughout the year – some coincidentally and others knowingly – dealt with the concept of time and the intricate relationship between science and art.

It also proved to be another positive 12 months for painting, which again proved to be the Lazarus – or perhaps the David Bowie, if we consider its constant reinvention and ignore the idea of 'growing stale' – of all the artistic media. Throughout the year, painting demonstrated once more to its critics that reports of its demise had indeed been greatly exaggerated, by providing many highlights, with both emerging home-grown talents and internationally recognised names vying for space during a fascinating time on the gallery circuit.

Traditionally during December and early January, group exhibitions tend to dominate the calendar as galleries provide a synopsis of the preceding months, and at the moment the Temple Bar Galley & Studios is no different. However, the current show, A Moment In Time, offers a hugely fitting synopsis of the last year in Irish art – and not just at that space. The exhibition brings together almost 70 Irish and around 18 international artists, each of whom have produced a painting with one single limitation – the canvas must be of a uniform 30 x 40 x 2cm size.

The results are impressive, especially considering the number of artists and the varying aesthetic on display. Gallery regulars and favourites, David Godbold (the supposed new enfant terrible of the art world!), Felim Egan and Ronnie Hughes rub shoulders with the up-and-comings such as Atsushi Kaga and Leda Scully, while a smattering of international names – Chung Eun-Mo and BridA, for instance – punctuate the exhibition.

Group shows as a whole tend to lack focus and a strong curatorial direction, and more often than not, they boil down to a hotchpotch of unassociated works. A Moment In Time – due in part to its size limitation, but more so to its underlying themes of relativity, mass and energy – manages to present a coherent and reasoned front. It comes as no surprise that the TBG&S boasts a laborious selection process through which each artist was chosen on the basis of his or her very specific, well-defined styles.

A Moment In Time is a snapshot of painting – predominantly Irish painting – right at the present moment. If Einstein provides the underlying themes for the exhibition, then painting itself is the main focus. The 83 canvases on display meander across a plethora of different styles, techniques and artistic language, while the individual concerns and content of each artist are not over-shadowed by the sizable amount of work on view.

A Moment In Time is not so much a skin-deep, clichéd declaration that painting is not dead, but rather a reassurance (if one was necessary at all) that the medium is vibrant and inventive and can offer an infinity of conceptual and aesthetic possibilities. Maybe in the art world, which at times can be overly dominated by fads and trends, it is just a moment in time, but right now that moment belongs to painting.

?More Continues until 7 January 2006. www.templebargallery.com

Above: Cecily Brennan, 'Suicide Guards'. Below left: Mark O'Kelly, '1979'. Below right: Gottfried Helnwein, 'Cailín Ó Thiobraid Árann'