Mary McIntyre at Artis Gallery

Modern theory sees a painting as having an existence of its own, a creation rather than a representation.

The paintings of Mary McIntyre at Artis Gallery until April 3 gain their life from symbolism and myth. They feature the figure of Captain Cook, pivotal in our history. They are objects, painted on four sides of a pyramid, mounted on macrocarpa.

The pyramids deal on a mythic level with the encounter between the European explorer and the landscape. That this was in a large measure virgin territory is emphasised by the nude figure on each of the pyramids.

In a typical McIntyre way, the presence of modern technology is indicated by jet planes leaving soaring vapour trails.

The small scale of the pyramids concentrates the artist's excellent draughtsmanship. The portraits of Captain Cook are exact, and the folding hills, which go back to her earliest work, are strong and solid. Nude women are painted with sympathetic accuracy and easily carry the weight of mythical suggestion without losing their reality.

The strongest of the pyramids shows Ariadne who, with her ball of wool, gave the clue to the labyrinth. This fine show brings together many elements of McIntyre's long and productive career.

When Nigel Brown paints his big paintings, the works are quasi-religious objects. They are sermons in paint. His exhibition Yeah Human runs at the Warwick Henderson Gallery until April 3.

The paintings are filled with large, blocky letters that tell us what to think and feel. A typical work is On this Beautiful Morning, where lettered around the edge is the statement, "On this beautiful morning I feel so good".

Within this framework is a Southland landscape, a rainbow, and some huge lettering that shouts, "YEAH AND SO YOU SHOULD", which could also be read as "and so should you". Odd cows in a field and people swimming fail to persuade that this is indeed pastoral bliss.

Yeah Human, the title work, is set against the long horizon of the sea. In the foreground are three weathered fenceposts standing like crumbling idols. On either side is a man and a woman in stiff attitudes of prayer. In a spiky landscape are birds - a fantail, a hawk, a gull and a kakapo. They are the best-painted aspects in the picture.

The landscape and the figures are stiff and awkward. In the middle a child is skipping. It should be an expression of movement and joy but the uneasy drawing makes it look like someone bending bamboo.

Brown is emerging from his pre-occupation with McCahon's I AM, but his lettering is assertive and allied to his clutch of symbols which needs to be read carefully in the catalogue. For all the explanation they are still not persuasive.

An unusual technique can make a special object of a work of art. Caroline Rothwell's Into the Woods (Sue Crockford Gallery until March 26) shows she has established a technique of her own. She uses hand-cut vinyl which is attached to sheets of perspex.

Her technique of cutting the vinyl into ribbons is used energetically in three works called In Deep. The images are full of swirling movement, particularly effective in

3, where waves break against a cliff giving a sense of being drawn into something psychologically dangerous.

These works are a departure. No longer are they created by ribbons of vinyl but by areas of colour applied to the perspex in camouflage patterns. Outwardly sweet, despite the astringent colour, these patterns are peopled by little fairy-tale figures. The sweetness is modified by the way these figures are tied to a stake or carry a gun.

When she uses her ribbon technique, Rothwell makes straightforward objects complete: the moon, landscape, or bluebells by a lake. When she ventures into evoking complex, spontaneous responses of sweetness and menace, her work shows potential rather than full achievement.