Around the galleries

 █ MORE American abstractionists, along with their  British equivalents, in Vivid at the Richard Salmon  Gallery. It is correct, by and large, to call their painting abstract, but they are by no means dogmatic on the subject: if some concrete reference or even (perish the thought) an apparently explicit title will help, then they are game. Dona Nelson, for instance, calls her recent series of paintings Stations on the Subway, and though only the very naive would hope or expect to find out which refers to which, the title undoubtedly suggests the right frame of mind for the spectator.

     Thomas Nozkowski's paintings fade out disconcertingly from the centre, the ambiguous shapes which inhabit them drifting inexorably towards nonentity. Jonathan Feldschuh's work seems forever striving towards the concrete and recognisable, without ever attaining it: what we are given are the external signs of the struggle. Diana Cooper makes maze-like installations which combine qualities from painting, sculpture and even film. Dennis Hollingsworth and Clem Crosby favour minimal smudges and smears, whereas Tone Begg compiles paintings rich in colour and intricate in texture. Joan Key evokes a whispery, shadowy world which hints at intensity while hovering on the edge of silence. Her work has been reflected in musical performance, but all the artists included invite musical metaphor, whether largo or agitato.

  Richard Salmon Gallery, 59 South Edwardes Square, W8 (020- 7602 9494), until January 26

 -John Russell Tavlor