When the Bermuda National Gallery's (BNG) `Winter Shows' open next month, it will represent an unprecedented range of artistic styles, periods and traditions spanning five centuries and three continents. The collective title embraces four separate exhibitions, each of which will occupy its own section of the gallery. They are as follows:

The Art of Japanese Woodblock Prints - Oondatje Wing

The Ideal Collection - main gallery and upper mezzanine

The European Collection - Watlington Room

Coash and Jones: Collaborative Photography - lower mezzanine

This combination of exhibitions reflects the BNG's reaffirmation of its role as a National Gallery, and its future direction, which is to reflect not only Bermuda's history but also that of other cultures to which the Island is not normally exposed.

"We have actually been doing that over the past ten years but not making a statement," director Laura Gorham says. "Now, with David Mitchell on staff as curator, we can focus on our permanent collections which are European, Bermudian, African, contemporary, and photographic. As a counterbalance, we want to present work from other cultures. Art and history are inextricably linked, and the Japanese exhibition fits right in with that."

Very different will be the 52 Japanese woodblock prints produced between the 1680s and 1920.

Some are in such delicate condition that they cannot be framed but will be displayed in enclosed cases. The collection - a BNG first - is representative of the 400 year-old Japanese art form known as `Ukoyo-e', meaning `pictures of the floating world', which significantly influenced the European Impressionists in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The prints have been loaned by an anonymous private collector.

`Ukiyo-e' originated in the metropolitan culture of Edo (Tokyo) when Japan was ruled by the Tokugawa shogunate (1615-1867) - feudal lords who virtually isolated the country from the rest of the world. As a result, artists looked inward to portray facets of popular Japanese culture - everything from geishas and famous actors from the Kabuki theatre to pastoral scenes and historic battles. There was also a huge output of erotic art.

"But we won't be showing anything from that. This is strictly a family show," Mr. Mitchell says.

It was during the period of Japan's isolation that the woodblock technique was developed, and the prints - originally considered "production" rather than fine art as they are today - were produced on handmade paper in runs of anywhere from 200 to 20,000, depending on their popularity, and were largely collected by the merchant (or middle) classes.

The prints, all of which had to be passed by censors who controlled both the subject matter and prices, were produced by highly skilled teams of artists, carvers and printers, who created separate woodblocks for each colour. Sometimes, more than 20 colours were used on one print. A display of the process by which these exquisitely detailed woodblock prints were made will be included in the exhibition to help viewers understand the complexity of their creation.

"The Japanese woodblock technique was far superior at the time and surpassed anything in the West," BNG acting education director Rachel Skrlac says.

"The sustained quality of the prints is phenomenal when you consider these started in the 1630s and finished around the 1930s," Mr. Mitchell adds. "Nothing in the West compares. No style or art form in the West has been sustained for that long."

Because of Japan's isolation these prints were rarely seen in Europe until the latter part of the 19th century when, incredibly, they were used as packing materials for Japanese goods sent to the West. Through this route the French impressionist Monet was the first artist to discover them and he, along with Manet, owned a large collection. Van Gogh, D?gas, Toulouse Lautrec and Mary Cassatt were also heavily influenced by the fine technique, composition and colours used by the Japanese artists.

"Only photography had a greater impact on the development of art in the late 19th and early 20th centuries," Mrs. Skrlac says.

Summing up the BNG's delight at being given an opportunity to stage `The Art of Japanese Woodblock Prints', Mrs. Gorham notes that: "Due to photosensitivity and their delicate nature, the prints are rarely shown to the public, so we are especially pleased to be able to give Bermuda the opportunity to see some of this extraordinarily beautiful art form."

Special lectures at the BNG planned to complement this exhibition are:

February 12: `The History of Japanese Woodblock Prints' by J. Noel Chiappa, Bermudian Asian art expert and collector, 12.30 p.m. to 1.30 p.m. Admission free.

February 13: `The Influence of Japanese Art on Western Aesthetics from the 17th to the 20th Centuries' by McLaughlin Art Lecture Series guest lecturer Ori Soltes, 5.30 p.m. Mr.Soltes is the Goldman Professorial Lecturer in Theology and Fine Arts at Washington, DC's Georgetown University. Admission: BNG members/students $5, others $10. will combine pieces from the BNG's permanent collection with masterpieces borrowed from private collections to form what is described as "an ideal representation of the development of fine and decorative arts in Bermuda over the past 300 years". Included will be paintings and portraits from the 1700s to the present day by such artists as John Green (the Island's first resident artist), Joseph Blackburn, Bessie Gray, Edward James, Adolph Treidler, Charles Lloyd Tucker, Hereward Watlington, Alfred Birdsey, Manuel Palacio, Capt. Magnus Musson and Graham Foster, among others. Stories behind many of the paints will be equally fascinating, such as the influence of visiting artist Joe Jones on Birdsey, which changed him from a realist to a modernist painter and reflected his love of oriental art; as well as Palacio's painting overwritten with Andra Simons' poetry which marks a defining moment among artists who have made an impact on the modernist movement here.

Also on show will be photographs by John A. Frith, the Island's first black commercial photographer, who was born in 1835 the son of freed slaves, and Richard Saunders whose career included working for Life magazine. Other attractions will include fine furniture and silver, and the BNG's latest acquisition, `The Virgin Mary', a plaster model for the larger Virgin created by Canadian sculptress Byllee Lang as one of the figures in the reredos behind the altar at the Anglican Cathedral. Miss Lang influenced a generation of local artists, and was instrumental in the founding of Bermuda's first arts organisation. The model was donated to the BNG by the Bishop of Bermuda, the Rt.Rev. Ewen Ratteray, and brings to eight the number of Lang pieces it owns. will comprise paintings from the BNG's permanent collection and those of private collectors. Spanning 500 years of European art from the Renaissance to the late 19th century, representative artists will include include Palma Vecchio, Sir Joshua Reynolds, Thomas Gainsborough and sculpture by Auguste Rodin.takes the `Winter Exhibitions' into the 21st century with a fascinating series of black and white photographs by fellow Americans Julie Coash, senior lecturer in studio art and art history at the Bermuda College, and artist/photographer Phillip Jones. The pair, who share a background in painting, drawing and set design, began collaborating on photography in 1993. Their photographs combine everyday items with natural elements, which their imaginative composition and skilful use of light then transform into other-worldly creations which echo Coash's abstract expressionist work and Jones' figurative paintings.As part of its efforts to engage and encourage children to explore different styles of artwork used in the Winter Exhibitions, the BNG's acting education director has assembled interactive displays and workstations in the former gift shop area at the entrance to the gallery. The space also includes a little library and educational resources designed to help make arts education an active experience for all ages.

Opening day for `The Winter Exhibitions' is February 8, and the display continues through April 17. Thanks to the generous sponsorship of Mr. Dennis Sherwin, the Leperq Foundation, Neville and Jean Conyers, and Westbury Bermuda Ltd., admission will again be free throughout this year.

For further information ( 295-9428, e-mail directorbng.bm or visit the website www.bng.bm