Vic Reeves' big night out at London's Britart Gallery.

The indisputable king of surreal British comedy has ventured into the art arena. Opening this week, and running until 1 September, Doings is an exhibition by Vic Reeves.

Featuring over 50 paintings, sculptures and photographs, you can see the show at the Britart Gallery in London. Vic Reeves, the manic character who frequents our screens along with his slapstick partner Bob Mortimer, is the comic invention of Jim Moir, a charmingly nervous, lightly tanned and slightly ruffled man.

Painting was Moir's original career plan. He attended a foundation course in London's East End and worked in a gallery in the mid-80s while continuing to paint and draw. Yet the work on display rides on the famous coat-tails of the ubiquitous comedian, and blatantly follows in the footsteps of such grand oldies as David Bowie, Ronnie Wood and Paul McCartney, all of whom have recently exhibited their art.

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Moir defends his decision to show as Vic, simply saying, "People know me as Vic Reeves. I can get rid of the works, sell them. An exhibition gives me the impetus to do more work. I mean you could call it a hobby, but it is more important than that. To say it is more than a hobby is like blowing a very golden trumpet, but it is something that I like doing."

Some of the works in the show are signed by Jim Moir, some by Vic Reeves. Is this a sign that the alter egos are struggling? Not necessarily so. Moir explains that he approaches his art in the same way that he approaches his comedy. Writing a sketch is the same as painting a painting. "I find it's quite similar. It's the way one might display a subject, see life, whatever you call it. There is comedy in the painting."

From early drawings to more recent photographs, the exhibition is full of strange stuff. Often the work is as obscure as Reeves' comedy. At times it's black, jabbing, both hysterical and sad.

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The drawings are the jewels. Less so the paintings. With their scratchy surfaces and naive gesturing they remind me of the manic expressionism of two young British artists. David Shrigley's quirky line-drawings exploit a similar tongue-in-cheek humour and Keith Tyson's gigantic wall drawings ponder great scientific questions just for a laugh.

Reeves' humour is even admired by those bad boys of the young British art scene, Jake and Dinos Chapman. They have said Reeves' work is "able to command our laughter as purgative, to encourage the viewer to leak at both ends". But the paintings and photographs are less happy, technically, and a little burdened metaphorically.

But then maybe Vic Reeves - and Jim Moir - don't care. Their favourite work in the show is Autopsy, a muddy disjointed painting featuring a man lying on a slab with his skin peeled back, his ribs and insides on display and his head looped off. Grinning. HR 11 July 02

Doings is at the Britart Gallery from 4 July-31 August.
Tel 020 7392 7200 Admission free.