innovative artists in his latest one-man show at the Bacardi Building.

His first major exhibition at City Hall last summer indicated that here was an artist who painted the mood, rather than the exterior of his subjects with pictures that were flooded with colour, bold and often geometric lines that were also full of abstract complexity.

While all of these attributes are similarly true of this show, there is ample evidence that Mr. Bassett is an artist who continues to grow and experiment in intriguing new directions. There is a shift of emphasis, not so much in subject matter but in texture and application.

He still works exclusively in oils but sometimes dilutes these to the point where the finished painting is more suggestive of watercolour. Besides the conventional canvas, he has also experimented in the use of heavy burlap and, at the other end of the spectrum, fine linen.

As for application, art teacher Robert Bassett demonstrates decisively that the artist's brush is but one tool. In this exhibition he has applied his paint with a stick, a roller, and, on occasions, uses a cloth to produce some colours that for him, are uncharacteristically soft and muted.

In the main, however, it is the explosion of brilliant colour that makes his work so very distinctive. He says that he wanted to pay tribute to one aspect of Bermudian culture and for this, he has selected the gombey dancers. There are several portrayals of these, which also represent the only realist work in this collection. Far more interesting is the clear demonstration of how the strident mix of colour seen in the fantastical costumes of the gombey is reflected and refined in his more abstract work.

This, in turn, may be divided into two categories: his highly humorous, almost decorative works where he uses vivid, solid tones and clearly defined lines and his multi-dimensional abstracts, which eloquently reveal his vision of the inner soul. Almost brutally stripping away outward, conventional trappings, he shows us scarcely defined faces where the eyes always predominate -- eyes that watch and comment but also reflect the condition of the human race. It is these works that reveal the full and considerable originality of his work.

The first category which, bearing in mind the public's general unease with the abstract, are probably the most popular, include some memorable pieces.

The long-becked Clown is a marvel of witty detail, from the single flower sprouting from his floppy hat, the explicitly etched numbers on his outsize watch, to the symbolically glowing heart. Cutting the Rug shows a couple, tipsy with exaggerated rhythm and the portrait, Think I'm Somethin, in which the eyes are emphasised yet hidden by red sunshades and his dramatic Hair Do, painted on linen, where the brilliant colours are a direct inspiration of Gombey capes, are all fine examples of what may be termed his realistic art.

Robert Bassett's constant search for new techniques is best seen in his abstracts. This is certainly the case in Three's a Crowd, a subtle re-run of the axiom, in which the wide-eyed couple are portrayed in full focus with the faint outline of the third person suggesting an intrusive effect. The brush, roller, stick and cloth are all used to provide a contrast of rigid lines and soft textures.

Warrior is another powerful and exploratory piece, in colours that are again uncompromisingly brilliant. Of special interest here are the round, brushed eyes, this time surrounded by sharply delineated squares, signifying the straits of discipline.

Mind's Eye is an intriguing, even disturbing work, painted on canvas with the stick technique and thick brushwork much in evidence. The pale, indeterminate face, dominated as usual, by haunting eyes, reflects the ultimate privacy of personal thought, where facial expression may mask a million emotions, the varying moods illustrated by his use of surrounding colours and symbolised by shafts of sunlight, rain-drops or floating bubbles.

Strings of My Heart is perhaps the most poignant piece -- and in spite of the humour that simmers in much of his work, `poignant' is a word that frequently springs to mind in viewing these paintings -- where the eyes hold a speculative sadness. This is a strongly symbolic piece where the delicately traced strings also represent a musical instrument as they fall across his heart.

Because of their generally large size, the paintings have been mounted on easels, a necessary scheme that has one drawback in that it is difficult to initially absorb the overall theme of the exhibition. It does, however, offer an element of the unexpected as you thread your way through a total of 40 paintings.

While Robert Bassett's work owes a little to the interchange between cubism and primitive African art and quite a lot to his Bermudian environment, there is a universality of theme that takes them beyond any parochial boundaries.

And for those who are a little weary of local art that tends towards oleanders brushing white Bermuda walls, this show will provide a welcome and invigorating change.

PATRICIA CALNAN THAT'S HIS STYLE -- Artist Mr. Robert Bassett seen with Royalty, one of the paintings featured in his one-man show, Just My Style II, currently on view at the Bacardi Building.