Conall McCabe's SerialKiller Exhibition at Gallery X

Gallery X has to be the coolest, most underrated art gallery in Dublin city centre (you probably passed by it endless times in South William Street without noticing it). Every single exhibition rarely fails to meet my expectations and there is a constant macabre, obscure theme that makes this little spot unique.

Conall McCabe's watercolour portraits are beyond disturbing, in the best way possible. I was transfixed by the fascinatingly haunting faces, eyes and expressions I've seen many times before in documentaries, tabloids and criminology books. Sure you're wondering "who the fuck wants to have Ramirez framed on the wall?" but the concept is more about depth rather than decorative purposes. I loved how these monsters were captured - Aileen  Wuornos looked nightmarish in blue hues and some shades of red were spot on, considering the way we imagine such horrifying entities of evil and how they invade our minds with fear and unsettling unease.

The Macabre Gallery Show at GalleryX

In this exhibition we enter a world where the night is dark and full of terrors. Well, kind of. I went to GalleryX for the first time (bus strike that day, meaning I had to walk all the way from Stoneybatter to Herbert Street) to contemplate the work of several international artists (Sayutno Buttò, Michael Hutter, Christine Morren, Trëz, Tomas Alen Kopera, Sandra Yagi, Arturo Esparza, Jean-François Bouron) on display, exposing nightmare-inducing pieces charged with erotic yet grotesque content. The obscure vibe of this exhibition allowed me to open my mind and horizons in order to appreciate the exquisite darkness of death, sex and surrealism. It is a controversial showcase of beautifully bizarre fine Art that might unsettle the beholder with its twisted details. Fascinating!

Masaru Shichinohe

Japanese artist Masaru Schichinohe aka Maboroshi (meaning "ghost" in Japanese) has created a dream within a dream: a dark, surreal, fantastic underworld painted on wood panels with acrylic paint. Masaru was born in 1959 and graduated from Tokyo University of Arts in 1981. His artwork is like the dark side of Alice in Wonderland; a childhood nightmare embellished by fairytales and memories stuck inside a trouble mind where space and time ceased to exist. It almost makes me feel as if some of our dreams are exposed and diagnosed in these paintings.

Adam Lupton

I've recently came across the artwork of Canadian artist Adam Lupton (thank you, Tumblr!). His oil paintings splintered and shattered layers of reality and blurred the lines of time and space. I see his works as a very peculiar concept of portraiture, like a parallel stream of conscience where realism clashes with a vague sense of dissociation and emotional depth. Almost like a broken mirror reflection seen through the cracks. Lupton was born in Vancouver, graduated from the Emily Carr University of Art and Design in 2010 and is currently completing his Master of Fine Arts at the New York Academy of Art.

Ron Hicks

Remember this name: Ron Hicks. This middle-aged artist grew up in Ohio and attended classes at the Columbus College of Art and Design on scholarship. Eventually he moved West and graduated from the Colorado Institute of Art and also worked as a freelance illustrator for a while. I am smitten with his beautifully impressionist and emotionally charged paintings - the figures, the interiors, the shapes, the muted pallette, the moody atmospheric tone... The layers of emotion unravelled by brushstrokes make me wonder what's the story behind the painting.