Walking into the Watlington Room these days is almost like walking in Times Square. The paintings of Kevin Morris, the present occupant of that room, dazzle, glow, flicker, indeed, his paintings have a neon quality and it is all done with paint.

The paintings, all of them in this show at least, have a compositional structure that can be described as "overall", that is, there is no one centre of attention. I suppose that some might consider his work as busy, but that is the important quality that makes his paintings work; that create that sense of glow and dazzle.

Kevin Morris is a self-made artist, an autodidact. When I asked him about where he had studied art, he said "Saltus". For those who may not be in the know about Bermuda schools, that is one of our high schools.

If I understand correctly, however, his art actually developed out of his work experience as a house painter. It can be said, to paraphrase Arthur C. Danto, well known New York philosopher cum art critic, that Kevin Morris, by avoiding art school, has remained "uncorrupted by high art".

That does not mean that he is uninformed about art matters or contemporary art particularly, for in conversation with him, I learned that two artists he especially admires are Jackson Pollock and Basquiat, another self- taught artist.

I first met Kevin Morris about ten years ago when he first exhibited in one of the Bermuda National Gallery's biennials and that was just about the first time we in Bermuda had a chance to see his unique art style. I understand though that he had already been making art for some time, quietly, on his own, without his having shown publicly what he was doing.

As one local artist has observed, he seems to have been driven to do this kind of art and even at that early stage his artistic style was already well developed. What he is now doing is an elaboration and evolution of that early style. His art has that obsessive quality that I associate with visionary artists.

In recent times, he has been living in Greece and as such, he has had the opportunity to travel in Europe with visits to some of the great art museums, but instead of appreciably altering his art, it has only informed and developed further what he has been doing all along, particularly in terms of elaborating concepts, without bringing about any significant stylistic change.

Obviously, words play a large part in what Kevin Morris does. I am told that the words he incorporates into his paintings, are ones he hears or sees from manifold sources, that impress him in some way, so that he notes them for future use. In many ways they are part of his self-referential way of art making. These paintings are all about his experiences as a live, curious, attuned individual. If art is life, twice lived, these painting are of that ilk.

The exhibition consists of 14 paintings, most having been created in 2008. Although this is an important show with many appealing paintings, I was especially drawn to "Pollock". In this painting, the style of that great abstract expressionist, Jackson Pollock is recreated but in Morris' own unique way of making marks. Nearby is a painting that recalls another influence and is thus named, "Basquiat".

This exhibition, Contemporary Conversations, is the first, in what is hoped to be a continuous dialogue about contemporary trends in the Bermuda art scene. I was recently informed that the exhibition is being held over into the summer. This is a highly recommended exhibition.