PRIMITIVE PULSE -- Paintings of Robert D. Bassett -- No. 1 Shed, Hamilton -- November 12 and 13.

In a gamble which appears, literally, to have paid off, Robert Bassett decided to rent the massive Harbour Room at No. 1 Shed last weekend for a two-day exhibition of 100 of his paintings. These included "the best'' which he had not already sold, some of them dating back some five years ago.

It would be no exaggeration to say that the artistic climate has changed radically since Mr. Bassett staged his first one-man show at City Hall in 1991. Although his modernistic, Afro-European paintings were much admired in some quarters, the overall Bermudian reaction was one of indifference. What a difference a couple of years and the hype of an international African art show makes. The public not only flocked to his show, they actually purchased his paintings.

The Harbour Room, with its mellow wood-panelled walls, provided the perfect backdrop for his large and buoyantly dramatic works, many of them mounted on large wooden easels around the perimeter of the room. The humerically haphazard hanging of the exhibits may have kept the viewers more alert, but from a reviewing point of view it made a task, already daunting, that much harder.

If you darted back and forth, or were already familiar with Robert Bassett's work, his progression over the years is obvious. His figurative paintings focus predominantly on facial images, visualised in an idiom that is an exhilarating mix of post-cubism and the elaborate symbolism of traditional African art. As such, the intent of his work, seen in context with the National Gallery show, Africa: Art that Conceals and Reveals, becomes clearer -- and certainly very topical.

In a recent interview he has admitted his debt to, and fascination with, the art of Africa in general and that of West Africa with its strong French colonial influence in particular. The vibrant interaction between the two cultures is reflected in Bassett's own work.

His earlier paintings, which I would include among my own personal favourites, used the eyes as the focal image: exaggerated in size, he was able to convey a powerful sense of human emotion often, it appeared, of vulnerability or sadness. This was perhaps best epitomised in the beautiful `Strings of My Heart', where the intense blue eyes were pin-pricked with tears.

Symbolism with Robert Bassett is never a simple affair: in the same picture, and through the suggestion of a cradled guitar, he employs another theme which pervades his best work, that of music. The title of his show confirms the importance of music in his life. He often conveys this quite literally, through manuscript notes that dart across the canvas and some of his liveliest paintings portray musicians in the full swing of motion and emotion. Jazz is his obsession and the bright, primitive colours and sense of movement provide some of his most vibrant work. This is seen, perhaps in its simplest form in his 1990 painting of `Man with the Horn' and most notably in the recent Bassman, where the brilliant mosaic of colours are concentrated in the musician's absorbed face and make an unaccustomed contrast with the softly abstract background.

Also on a musical theme is a recent work, `Just Play', where a guy in a splendid fedora hat pipes his tune as two enigmatic figures lurk in the background. `Red Head', however, seems to be a far more subtle interpretation of the theme, where music itself becomes an abstract. There are two faces, one uncompromisingly red, one orange, both in profile, while a circle of prancing figures in the background are strikingly reminiscent of Matisse's dancers.

While Robert Bassett has steadily painted a variety of surrealist landscapes and, for a time, turned his attention to his own roots with an expansive series of Gombey studies, it is the overall human condition that most steadily holds his interest. Now, there are other themes emerging and while they are not strictly new, the subtle intensity of treatment is.

The themes of Africa and a move towards abstraction surface far more strongly in his recent work. `Good Time' (versions I and II) combine the two elements, with an elongated, square portrait of a face, with three shadowy background figures, the African aspect being emphasised through traditional fabric patterns. The brilliantly coloured and sharply delineated `Wealth and Wisdom' takes on the paradoxes implied in the title, where the kindest host is also the harshest warrior, the symbolism reflected in `Fingers', representing love, and `Spears for War', the gold and precious stones symbolic of the treasures of the earth. `Speaking Wisdom', on the other hand, heralds a new softness of style and paint treatment. Three figures stand in a circle, but it is the colour, still lambent but echoing earthier, gentler hues, which makes this painting something of a departure from his previous work.

It is a pity that this show could only be held for two days, but for those who managed to get there, its scope undoubtedly revealed the full impact of Robert Bassett's work. PATRICIA CALNAN.