An exhibition of work by John Cullinane rarely disappoints as this artist puts as much thought into his art as paint on canvas.  The narratives found in these pictorial images may not suit everyone but there is no denying the construction of the dialogue is finely done.

In this exhibition at Artplace, Cullinane presents the world around us in both a factual and metaphorical sense.  For example the reality of Overdose is chilling in its depiction of the lonely death of a young man on the tiles of the central railway station.  Two guards flank the corpse but no one touches him, echoing in death the isolating conditions in life that may have driven him to drugs.

This urban alienation is obvious in many images.  In The Masquerade a crowd of people occupy the city street but no one seems to connect.  They carry masks to hide behind and although some touch each other, the touching seems more like a violation than a comforting gesture.  In The Secretary, a single figure seems lost and vulnerable as she is pushed into a corner by an imposing city. Perhaps she will take her revenge when she puts on The Red Dress.  In this image a lady showers in preparation for a night out, her dress awaits on the bed, the city awaits beyond her window, and something else awaits, something dark and sinister, hoofed and horned.  Will she be devoured or become the devourer?

I do like The Scholar The Artist a diptych that offers some kind of explanation for the absurdity of our situation.  Here two supposed commentators on life are blindfolded and bound so they cannot see their barren surroundings, other people, not even themselves.

Monuments and myths are referenced in many works.  While the imagery is lonely and foreboding, the warmth of colour and glimmer of light reflecting off the oil rich surface make splendid viewing.  Cullinane is a painter, he manages the oil medium with respect and sure ability.  His surfaces are rich with layers of colour, meaning and mood.  Altered minds will find different readings and interpretations to the same images which makes the exhibition an intellectual exercise as well as a visual work out.  What the artist has created here is a world we hesitate to enter, not because it is fantasy but because it is all to real.