Good art exhibitions, no less than other aspects of art making, require thoughtful, aesthetic consideration, not only in choosing the works to be exhibited, but also carefully displaying them. The present exhibition in the Onions Gallery, at the Bermuda Society of Arts, which is entitled, "Diversity of Friends", is a good exhibition that would be better, had there been greater discrimination in selecting works.

All the artists in this show are young in art and it is not my intention to be overly critical. Indeed, it is my purpose to encourage them to continue making and exhibiting art. I hope what I write in this review will contribute to their further artistic development. They all bring their gifts to the community and I am personally grateful for their contributions. The artists participating in this show are: Alice Coutet, Joyce Duarte, Zeudi Hinds, Arjah Stirling, Richardo Cardoso and Andora Stirling-Rogers.

There are eighty-two works in this show, but Alice Coutet's forty-eight paintings dominate , not only by sheer numbers, but also in size. The closest any other artists comes to matching that number is Zeudi Hinds' eleven modest size photographs. This number is then followed by Richardo Cardoso's ten small photographs. The other artists are showing even fewer works, all are modest to small in their over-all dimensions.

In other words, Alice Coutet's contribution fairly eclipses anything else in the show. This is unfortunate, for had she been more selective , not only would there have been a better numerical balance, her works would be seen as even stronger than they presently are perceived.

Several of Alice Coutet's paintings have been seen in earlier shows and there is nothing inherently wrong with this, but in this case, she has developed her artistic skills well beyond those earlier creations. Additionally, her abstractions are more decorative than anything else.

Her photo-realist paintings are, by far, her best and most recent work. Had she restricted her contribution to only these paintings, her work would be seen as stronger and stylistically consistent. As it is, she seems to be all over the stylistic map. Nevertheless, Alice Coutet is a gifted, up and coming artist. I look forward to her continued contributions to our artistic community.

A particular photograph that stood out is Zeudi Hinds' "I'm Ready". It is a sepia of a close-up of intertwined hands resting on two feet.

Richardo Cardoso's "Hamilton City Lights," photographically depicts, an unusual view of Hamilton. In achieving this, I can only imagine that he used a telephoto lens. It has that "pilled-up" appearance that is so characteristic of some telephoto shots.

Arjah Stirling's paintings are inspired by anime depictions of big eyed kids. For those who may not know, anime is a type of Japanese animation.

The exhibition continues through September 19, 2007