Futures 10

Hot off the heels from its ever-successful Annual Summer Exhibition, the Royal Hibernian Academy is about to launch an unlikely rival to the summer show's throne. This time, however, the academy's critical gazes will be focused on the less established talent it has to offer. From the 3rd of September, the annual Futures exhibition will celebrate the work of seven emerging artists: Damien Flood, Magnhild Opdol, Oisin Byrne, Rhona Byrne, Niall de Buitlear, Ailbhe Ni Bhriain and Fiona Chambers.

With a more restricted number of artists on show, the exhibition should be a little more easy to digest than the Annual Exhibition. Wandering around the mammoth collection of works at the Dublin art world's headline annual show can - after all - be a little overwhelming at times (albeit often in the best possible way, if you're an art lover). More in the vein of a group show at a smaller, independent gallery, the exhibition is set to have a more personal feel - each artist letting you get to know them a little more intimately than would otherwise be possible. That's perhaps why, in only its second year running, Futures is looking just as essential as its older brother.

Though the range of artists is of course more limited, the range of approaches and mediums is less so. Three painters will be exhibiting as part of Futures (Flood, Opnol, Chambers), and one video artist (Ni Bhriain). The rest, however, are harder to pin down - falling into either more than one category or largely making their own - de Buitlear, for instance, 'upcycles' pre-used materials and arranges them to reflect accumulative processes. So there is a healthy mix of the traditional and the experimental.

It's clear by the title of the exhibition what high hopes the Royal Hibernian Academy are pinning on these cherry-picked artists. Granted, group exhibitions that claim to be showcasing the future of the art world are two to a penny, but one that comes from an institution as prestigious as the Academy is more than likely going to be a cut above.

Words Rosalind Abbott