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<\/p>\nCreated: Jul 21, 2026 04:00 AM<\/p>\n
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Josh Stevens at the opening of his art show Nobody\u2019s Business at the Bermuda Society of Arts gallery at City Hall (Photograph supplied)<\/p>\n
As a child, Josh Stevens loved going on adventures with his grandfather, Shirley Hazel, an avid photographer.<\/p>\n
Mr Hazel loved taking photos of sunsets and the outdoors. Following after him, Mr Stevens developed a passion for nature.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy grandfather always told me: \u2018find time for the things you love\u2019,\u201d Mr Stevens remembered.<\/p>\n
Recently, Mr Stevens did just that by walking away from a job as a chef to devote himself full-time to his passion for art.<\/p>\n
The 32-year-old\u2019s first solo show, Nobody\u2019s Business, opened at the Bermuda Society of Arts at City Hall this month.<\/p>\n
\u201cI called the show Nobody\u2019s Business because the name represented the theme I was going for \u2014 interior worlds and hidden stories,\u201d Mr Stevens said. \u201cI was always interested in storytelling with my art. I also wanted to create an element of deeper meaning.\u201d<\/p>\n
Most of the pieces were made during a year and a half of art classes at the Bermuda College taken with professors such as Edwin Smith, Michael Walsh and Sabrina Baker.<\/p>\n
He was inspired by artists such as Jacob Lawrence and Pablo Picasso.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was taking inspiration from their work and then making it into my own,\u201d Mr Stevens said. \u201cIt was an experimental stage for me. I was finding out what colours worked with what.\u201d<\/p>\n
He was a quiet, introspective child. Today, that introspective streak underpins his storytelling on canvas. He still carves out small pockets of time to create, in keeping with his grandfather\u2019s philosophy, even if it is only for a few minutes.<\/p>\n
Each painting comes with an intriguing little story.<\/p>\n
Under a painting called Untold Stories: Behind Closed Doors he wrote: \u201cIn places where people gather, the quiet truths slip out first \u2014 in glances, in pauses in the way someone folds a newspaper to avoid being seen.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was only after taking part in the college\u2019s annual art show that he decided to aim for a solo show.<\/p>\n
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A piece in Nobody\u2019s Business (Photograph by Jessie Moniz Hardy)<\/p>\n
The BSoA show was his first as a full-time artist.<\/p>\n
He felt nervous and vulnerable at the opening but also excited to see people\u2019s reactions to his work.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a pivotal moment to have my story told and showcased,\u201d he said. \u201cThere were other artists there. It was a positive experience and the work was well received. People were very supportive and wanted to know what I would do next.\u201d<\/p>\n
In his artist statement he revealed that he makes art about the rooms we grow up in, the ones we escape and the ones we carry with us long after we leave.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy practice moves between painting mixed-media and narrative text but the heart of it is always the same,\u201d he wrote. \u201cI\u2019m trying to give shape to the stories that were never spoken aloud.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Stevens said the show was the first chapter of a trilogy.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis exhibition is not about telling everything,\u201d he said. \u201cIt is about finally telling enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
A piece in Nobody\u2019s Business (Photograph by Jessie Moniz Hardy)<\/p>\n
Some people even came up to him to arrange commissions.<\/p>\n
His family were thrilled for him.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey have been really supportive,\u201d Mr Stevens said. \u201cThey have seen the work develop.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Stevens believes his late grandfather would have been very proud.<\/p>\n
\u201cGod gave me this artistic talent,\u201d he said. \u201cThat is my biggest inspiration and support.\u201d<\/p>\n
He thanked his friends and family for their encouragement, and also the BSoA.<\/p>\n
Of the new general manager, he said: \u201cShe has been an amazing supporter. Former gallery director Nzingha Ming was the one who got the foundation work going and introduced me to the gallery.\u201d<\/p>\n
The artist is now in England preparing to enter the fine arts programme at Brighton University.<\/p>\n
Brighton\u2019s vibrant arts scene was a major draw for him and he is looking forward to becoming a part of it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to continue on with the creative route, maybe as a professional artist or as a gallery director or something like that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat really drew me was more the creative expression here and also the history of the arts,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s a very unique scene where everyone who wants to try to creatively express themselves will be able to.\u201d<\/p>\n
While he hopes to make Brighton a kind of home base, he insists he will \u201cdefinitely be back in Bermuda to continue with my art\u201d and remain connected to the island that shaped him.<\/p>\n
The BSoA has extended the run of the show until early August. Ms Trott is also working on getting prints made of Mr Stevens\u2019 art so that a wider selection of people can afford to own his work.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Created: Jul 21, 2026 04:00 AM Josh Stevens at the opening of his art show Nobody\u2019s Business at…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":552625,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[437,117882,434,435,436,438,146,85,46],"class_list":["post-552624","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arts","tag-arts-general","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-artsdesign","tag-design","tag-entertainment","tag-il","tag-israel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/552624","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=552624"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/552624\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/552625"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=552624"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=552624"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=552624"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}