The two-artist exhibition of Stella Shakerchi and Jason Harris, currently taking place in the Rose Garden Gallery at the Masterworks Foundation, is a fascinating study in contrasts. Ms Shakerchi’s paintings are as light, airy and delicate, as Mr. Harris’s are solid and weighty. Overall, Ms Shakerchi’s paintings exude joy; Mr. Harris’s strength.

Ms Shakerchi’s paintings exemplify qualities often thought of as feminine, Mr. Harris’s, the masculine.

Last year Stella Shakerchi exhibited her, largely abstract paintings at the Edinburgh Gallery in the Bermuda Society of Arts.

This present exhibition shows her more realistic paintings. She is exhibiting 40 paintings.

Most are depictions of the Bermuda landscape.

Many are obviously inspired by certain modern masters, such as Van Gogh, Matisse or Vuillard.

Two of Ms Shakerchi’s paintings depict scenes from Palm Grove Gardens.

Both make use of small, broken paint strokes that extend throughout the paintings in an overall composition that has no particular compositional emphasis.

This gives each brushstroke equal importance in the total design.

This is reminiscent of the approach to painting by Vuillard, who was one of the leading painters of a group known as the Nabis.

The idea of the importance of the brushstroke recalls a statement by another Nabis, Maurice Denis, who wrote that “a picture — before being a war horse, a female nude or some anecdote — is essentially a flat surface covered with colours assembled in a particular order”.

There is, indeed, a certain flatness to the Palm Grove paintings.

I say this not as criticism, but as an observation of fact and indeed, this flatness brings to mind another tenet of modernism, which is respect for the picture-plane.

Clement Greenberg, a well-known New York art critic from the 1950s, emphasised that the uniqueness of a painting is in its flatness, the flatness of the picture-plane.

He thought of this quality in ethical terms, as being true to it essential nature.

Several of Ms Shakerchi’s paintings are inspired by the work of Van Gogh. There are two in particular — ‘Hut Under Crescent Moon’ and ‘Three Sunflowers in a Vase’.

In the former, her treatment of the sky is thoroughly Van Gogh, particularly in her use of swirling brushstrokes.

The sunflower paintings are especially Van Gogh in subject-matter.

Indeed, Ms Shakerchi says that Van Gogh is her favourite artist.

The inspiration of Matisse is evident in a number of paintings of balconies and views from windows.

I noted ‘The Wonderful Wizard of Oz’ as an example. Others are ‘Rain on the Balcony’ and ‘Room with a View’.

The emulation and even copying of other artists work by artists at a certain stage in their development is not unusual.

It can perhaps be likened to the attainment of the level of a journeyman in the old apprenticeship system of training artists in the Medieval and Early Renaissance periods.

It is a way of investigating the the styles and techniques of others as a learning process.

Stella Shakerchi has one other painting in this exhibition that

I found especially appealing. It is ‘By Moon and Candlelight’.

It depicts details of Bermudian architecture, notably a chimney and a gate.

The moon is seen between buildings and the candle is resting on the top of a wall. I found this work to be full of magical light.

For this show, Jason Harris is exhibiting a dozen works of art. They are mostly a continuation of his investigation of a way of making painted low relief depictions of the Bermuda landscape. I have been aware of his earlier attempts at this way of working, from having seen them in other exhibitions.

He brings to this exhibition, however, works that show a greater technical mastery.

Additional attention to accuracy in his use of linear perspective would make these works even more convincing.

I found Mr. Harris’s ‘Up the Steps’ especially successful.

The rocky quality of the bank and steps are what is most appealing.

I noticed the work from across the room, especially the way the light glistened off the texture of the bank and steps.

I asked Mr. Harris which of his paintings was his favourite. He indicated that it was this same ‘Up the Steps’.

I thought I saw in his paintings, something of the architectural paintings of Bruce Stuart. It was therefore of interest when I learned that Mr. Stuart is his uncle. Art seems to run in the family.

One painting, ‘Midst of the Storm’ stands out in this show, because it is the only one of Jason Harris’ works that does not make use of his low relief technique.

It is a typical, flat abstract painting.

Additionally, it is notable because in an exhibition of modest size paintings, it is considerably larger than most. As a composition it is an an over-all design, meaning it has no particular compositional emphasis.

The exhibition continues through April 26, 2007.