Tate presents its star attraction

The whole of the universe is contained in the paintings of Peter Peri, the latest young artist featured in Tate Britain's Art Now series.

One might imagine as a boy he was as much inspired by watching episodes of The Sky At Night as by art history.

Shimmering globes in opalescent colours are painted against a series of coal black backdrops through which infinity might be glimpsed, or at least imagined.

These textured backgrounds suggest the minimalist paintings of US artist Robert Ryman in reverse - the dark negative rather than the white positive image, while the subtle colours that are overlaid become even more jewel-like against this void.

One painting, featuring a grid of overlapping lines that suggest the patterns of a constellation, has a title, The Melancholy Of Departure, that echoes just that sense of loneliness evoked by Peri's visual language. Elsewhere, Peri's drawings are anything but minimal.

Impressively detailed, they recall the modernist forms of early Surrealism.

They are like simple life forms observed under a microscope, but are also heavily reminiscent of the strange, lonely Neo-romantic landscapes of much English post-war art. And if it's a case of micro versus macro, then it's Peri's drawings that are infinitely more beguiling.

Until Jun 3, Tate Britain, Millbank SW1, daily 10am to 5.50pm, free. Tel: 020 7887 8008. Tube: Pimlico

Peter Peri
Tate Britain
Millbank
SW1P 4RG