 NOW that the Liverpool Academy of Arts has moved into The Paint Warehouse in Seel Street, they have a large space in which to exhibit. So here they have three shows together, two individual artists and a group show. Perhaps the most interesting is Variations from Ruth Piper, who graduated only last year in Fine Art from John Moores University. Her art is of the bold, in-your-face kind, a determined style which is repeated from work to work. Most use primary colours, are large and unflinchingly abstract. Jigsaws provide a theme for many, including works with titles like Red & Green and Blue & Yellow. Most have two canvasses side by side, complete with jigsaw cuts suggesting they might actually fit into each other. Ms. Piper knows what she wants and is brave enough to go for it. Liverpool-born artist Mark Cawood, currently Essex-based, calls his exhibition Atmosphere and is apparently concerned with global warming and rising sea levels. There is certainly a lot of sea in his canvases, splashing about on rocks and often with a surreal element. Mostly created in acrylics, Dawood’s ideas may be interesting but the execution of them is a little disappointing. Collaboration features 75 abstract works from two local art groups – Collidoscope and Kitchen Table – and as might be expected, the quality is variable. I liked Alan Sumner’s Essence – enamel on paper suggesting vague blobs – and Pat Nelson’s work featuring merging colours revealed a real talent in pieces like Quietude, Sanguine and White, the latter an all white canvas with shapes beneath. A favourite, however, was Mair Griffiths’s Walking the Dog, a small acrylic with a few lines suggesting a dog on a lead, small but perfect. Opening times Mon-Fri, noon - 4pm. The exhibitions continue until April 27. 0151 709 0735. | 
