The Fold: A Painting Show

VISUAL Centre for Contemporary Art, Old Dublin Rd, Carlow Tues-Sat 11am-5.30pm, Sun 2-5pm Until May 8 059-9172400

The Fold is a compendium of shows rather than one group show. The four featured painters – Mark McGreevy (above), Diana Copperwhite, Sheila Rennick and Gabhann Dunne – vary greatly in their approaches. What they have in common is a lively inventiveness and desire to grapple with representational, narrative painting in a contemporary context.

“Delving in the realms of fantasy and fiction,” their work demonstrates “painting’s potential as a poetic form”. At least two of them can be linked to what critic Holland Cotter indentifies as a revived tradition of “fiercely loony American figure painting”, exemplified by Dana Schutz, who showed at the Douglas Hyde Gallery last year. There’ll be plenty to get your teeth into. An accompanying catalogue has a text by Emma-Lucy O’Brien.

Can’t See That? Catch This

All My Lovin’ Crawford Art Gallery, Emmet Place, Co Cork Until Mar 19; Geheimnistrager (The Bearers of Secrets) and The Pier Sirius Arts Centre, Cobh, Co Cork Until Mar 6