Culture of Creation
Stylisation of the face and figure is one of the themes that undulate in Irish art down the centuries, writes Peter Harbison

James Joyce’s Dublin
John Banville discusses James Joyce’s Dublin, accompanied by an evocative selection of photographs from the J J Clarke Collection from the National Photographic Archive

Through the Looking glass
Brian McAvera talks to Michael Cullen, an artist unafraid of scale and taking on the old masters, ahead of his exhibition at the Taylor Galleries

Design portfolio
Eleanor Flegg reviews the latest in innovative Irish design to add to your wish list

A Provocative Performance
A report by Frances Ruane on this year’s recipient of the AIB Prize, performance artist Amanda Coogan, whose work explores the boundaries of artistic communication

RHA Prizewinners 2004
Marianne O’Kane presents Sonia Shiel and Maeve McCarthy, this year’s recipients of the Hennessy Craig Award and the Don Niccolo D’Ardia Caracciolo Award, respectively

Award values
Brian Harten discusses the recent Emerging Artist of the Year Award sponsored jointly by RTÉ OpenHouse and the Irish Arts Review

A Classical Ideal
Peter Murray sees a return to classicism in Conor Fallon’s recent equestrian triptych at CityWest in Dublin

The Art of Exile
Robert Ballagh remembers Micheal Farrell, whose exile in many ways mirrored that of James Joyce, the dominant artistic influence in his life

Visions of Nighttown
Gerry Walker is impressed with new etchings by Charles Cullen that capture the atmosphere of the demi-monde inspired by the Nighttown episode in Ulysses

An Incisive Aesthetic
The first quarter of the 20th century was the defining period in Cecil Salkeld’s career; S B Kennedy takes a fresh look at a man of many talents and diverse interests

Administration and Rubrication: the Christ Church psalter in context
Raymond Refaussé outlines the content of an exhibition devoted to important pre-Reformation manuscripts in Christ Church Cathedral this summer

Paradise lost
Mary Davies hopes that the picturesque ruins of Bellevue’s 18th-century follies and fragrant glasshouses may inspire a restoration plan

Villa Splendido
Jeremy Williams discusses the decorative scheme and historic antecedents of this villa in Dublin

Evolutionary Design principles
Recently refurbished and extended from its forward-looking 1970s design, this family home has stood the test of time, writes Eleanor Flegg

Feast
The West Cork Craft and Design Guild have a reputation for excellence in design and this summer they make their debut at the National Craft Gallery in Kilkenny, a report by Michelle Mitton