In anyone's book, Pablo Picasso is a hard act to follow. Spare a thought then for Richard Gorman who is now showing in the wake of the modern master's recent exhibition, which brought in tens of thousands of visitors to the Crawford Gallery.
Gorman, though, is no stranger to successful shows at this venue - his last exhibition here in 1993 was also a hard act to follow, with an inspiring selection of wonderfully energetic abstract paintings. His current show is, in many regards, the exact antithesis of his 1993 show. By comparison, the much more sedate Nine Paintings are characterised by clean, flat colours and cool, streamlined shapes. The picture plane is particularly important, since the artist has almost entirely removed reference to space and object, paring away the potential for reading content - a natural reflex when viewing abstract art. It's a clever device because you spend time searching for visual connections. But this is not to imply that thematic associations are a prerequisite for engaging with Gorman's work. These paintings are also self-referential, existing within their own self-determined orbit. It is almost as if these images are optical puzzles which conceal a mathematical solution. Following the dotted lines, comparing and folding shapes on to one-another, slotting positive into negative - all draw you into the equation.
Runs until Dec 4th