The recent refurbishing of the Bermuda Society of Arts now allows for greater flexibility in arranging exhibitions. At the moment there are three separate shows in the gallery, but at times as many as four can be hosted, all at the same time. Given the large size of the gallery, this is a good thing. This is especially true, when considering solo shows. If the entire space had to be filled by one artist, that would be a daunting task.

Presently and until July 22, the three exhibitions being held at the BSoA are: A photo show by Gretchen Gurr called, "Reflections on a Photographic Journey". This is in the Edinburgh Gallery.

In the Onions Gallery, a exhibition of emerging artists is on offer, while at the south end of the gallery, Alicia Wanklyn is showing six mixed media works.

I first came across the photographs of Gretchen Gurr in a small solo exhibition that was held, maybe last year, in the Common Ground Coffee Shop. That was a good show of mostly travel pictures, many from the north, like Norway, as I remember, but this present exhibition is a significant leap forward in her photographic skills and pictorial presentation. This show stresses the black and white, although five of the 18 pictures are in colour, albeit in very muted tones. I tend to favour the black and white work and especially the ones she made in Mexico of cowboys and their trappings, such as the detail of boots and spurs. There is also a high contrast depiction of a cowboy that details the leather jacket that he is wearing. Although much of the face is in shadow, the stubble on his chin is an added texture, that creates the impression of ruggedness.

The Emerging Artists show, exhibits the work of either art students or those recently graduated from art college.

I note that several are former students that I taught at Bermuda College.

One such student is Chris Mahony, who even as a freshman, he had strong drawing skills. I note that this is still the case and nearly all his work is in media usually associated with that art form, such as graphite, ink or charcoal.

I first came across the work of Kevin Simmons in a student show at the Bermuda National Gallery, several years ago. It is good to see that he is still developing his artistic abilities. I also remember a work by Kristin Rego from a previous student show that caught my attention, because of the obvious skill that underlay its creation. Now she is exhibiting her newer paintings which are more freely rendered.

Ami Zanders is also a former student of mine and she was always and continues to be a highly creative individual, but her present work, which continues that creative bend, is mostly about fibre, weaving, and such. She is also exhibiting one of her incredible baskets, that is made of some kind of fibres as well, although I suspect that within the fibre, there is a wire core. Bryce Pantry, who is unknown to me, also exhibits a considerable drawing ability. One that I noted is called, "Thoughts".

A couple other former students of mine are, Vanessa Bean and Rachel Furbert. In this show, I was attracted to a charcoal drawing by Vanessa Bean that is abstract but untitled. It is #45 in the gallery's catalogue, should you want to seek it out. Rachel Furbert is showing a collection of nine works, many in acrylic, but others in mixed media. Note especially her portrait of "Kalita".

Reid Trott is showing nine bold and colourful untitled abstracts. Ashley Hawker is also showing a large, bold, but otherwise more muted abstract which is also, likewise untitled.

What is especially noteworthy of this exhibition, is that, although this show is mostly by young Bermudian artists, none of the work depicts any obvious Bermudian subject matter. Many are abstracts, although there is also a preponderance of the surreal as well. We seem to be moving away from the former fixation of the Bermuda landscape.

Alicia Wanklyn's exhibition is an unusual mix of media, in that she has drawn, mostly depictions of foliage, but is two, the addition of the human form, one clothed, the other nude. These are then cut away from the negative space and then mounted on glass. In two instances, the glass is actually mirrors, but otherwise, the sheet glass has been spray painted, sometimes rather thinly, so as to be semi-transparent. All are beautifully framed in a simple, fairly wide pine molding that is simply treated with a mat finish. This is a show to see.