A new art exhibition opening at the Common Ground Café this week literally gets into the rhythm of life.“The exhibition, Rhythmic Moments offers various interpretations of movement of dance, the sequences of jazz music, the vibrations of drums, the harmony of hymns to the rhythm of everyday life,” said show organiser Susan Pearson of Select Palette Art.The show will feature a contemporary multimedia collection of new work by Ami Zanders, Charles Anderson, Edwin M E Smith, Graham Foster, Milton Hill, Sara Simons, Ms Pearson, and Vernon Clarke.“My oil paintings offer narrative works of the past, present and future for the Rhythmic Moments exhibition,” said Mr Clarke. “I have been using the inspiration of music and dance for many years as it was such a huge influence on my younger social life. The sound of salsa is old and infectious and finds new interpretations in our Island home. The Latin beat induces the listeners to move, to give one’s self over to its syncopated Afro-Caribbean poli-rhythms.”To translate these expressions of happiness into paint, Mr Clarke sought photographer Kageaki Smith. He shared his images from the Pro-Am Salsa Dance Contest at the Fairmont Southampton hotel last March. The result was his oil painting, ‘Drume Negrita’, on canvas.Mr Clarke uses chiaroscuro in some of his work. This is a technique that involves contrasted light and shadow created by light falling unevenly or from a particular direction on something.“The use of chiaroscuro is deliberate and overt as I’m inspired by the paintings of 17th century Italian painter Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio and his innovation of coaxing the light out of the dark which gives shape to figures,” said Mr Clarke. “This image represents the present.”Another of Mr Clarke’s paintings in the exhibition, ‘Ode for Billy’, was inspired by the life of singer Billie Holiday. Mr Clarke said her life read like a Greek tragedy played out on a modern stage.Another artist in the show, Mr Smith, said he had linked the theme ‘rhythmic moments’ with his interest in sociological matters.“I truly see the things that we do repeatedly in one’s daily life that may be overlooked and seemingly insignificant, as awesome rhythmic moments,” said Mr Smith. “I have captured some of these moments and I believe that they will be seen for their rhythmic qualities. Incidentally, my favourite jazz musician is Ramsey Lewis and I have entitled these works after some of his most popular jazz compositions including ‘Function at the Junction’ in charcoal and acrylic on masonite, and ‘The In-Crowd’, also charcoal and acrylic on masonite.”Rhythmic Moments opens Thursday from 5.30pm to 7pm at the Common Ground Café at 11 Chancery Lane, Hamilton.For more information contact Ms Pearson, SPArt[AT]logic.bm or 505-4290.