With the Bacardi Limited Biennial Exhibition of Contemporary Bermuda Art just weeks away, the Bermuda National Gallery has released the names of the 41 successful artists whose work was selected by international jury for this year's exhibition.

They include Katherine Harriott, recent winner of the $10,000 Charman Prize, and such familiar names as Antoine Hunt, Sharon Wilson, Will Collieson, Kevin Morris, Vaughn and Amy Evans, Edwin Smith, Peter Lapsley, John Gardner and Dr. Charles Zuill.

Entries were judged by Mark Krisco, artist, curator, and instructor at the Art Institute of Chicago, and Franklin Sirmans, curator of modern and contemporary art at the Menil Collection in Houston, Texas.

"While I certainly found the quality of the work generally high, primarily it was the range of the works that was most impressive to me as this suggests a changing — which is to say, vibrantly alive — cultural landscape. Artists appear to be embracing two traditions, both their own and the world. I consider myself very lucky indeed to be exposed to this emerging beauty and integrity," Mr. Krisco said.

The eighth Biennial, presented by Bacardi Limited in association with Royal Caribbean International, will take place at the Bermuda National Gallery from April 25 to September 4, and will feature 86 works by 41 Bermudian and resident artists completed between January 1, 2006 and December 31, 2007.

The successful entries were chosen from more than 250 works submitted by 68 artists, and the exhibition was open to all Bermudian artists on the Island or overseas, as well as foreign nationals who had been resident in Bermuda for at least six months during the competition period.

Speaking on behalf of the BNG, director Laura Gorham said: "As with previous Biennials, not only are we impressed by the extremely high quality of challenging work that continues to be produced by the Island's established artists but we are particularly excited by the emergence of new talent.

"This year we are proud that artists like Miles Manders, Charles Godet, Thomas and Susan Pearson are taking their deserved place in this celebration of Bermuda's richly diverse and talented arts community."