The collection of figurative and abstract paintings in acrylic, on show at St Anne's Art Gallery until November 30, simply vibrate with colour, yet as you look more deeply, get beyond the powerful swirling lines that move the eye from one patch of the canvas to the next, some works appear to contain a hunting darkness too.

They are the work of Gerard Hanson, of Jamaican/Irish parentage, who now lives in East Oxford and whose work was noticed by Dr Matthew Reynolds, a fellow of St Anne's and the art gallery director, during Hanson's Artweeks exhibition earlier this year. It's Dr Reynold's intention to stage two exhibitions a year that celebrate the work of Oxford artists - Hanson's is the first.

Dr Reynolds made this choice, having studied the paintings for some time and discovering there was much more going on in Hanson's work than is noticed at first glance. All the paintings in this exhibition, which is entitled Jamaica Was My Father's Home, depict life in Jamaica, which accounts for the bold application of colour.

They are works that have been inspired by the many visits he has made to the Island in the past 18 years, having not visited his father's home until he was in his twenties. What he sees and what he captures on canvas therefore are scenes he came to first as an adult, which could account for the detached way he paints the people, who don't seem to care if they are included in the picture or not. It's as if he accepts that he's not part of them, merely an observer and they in turn recognise he is just a visitor.

Take the central character in The Tuck Shop (pictured), for example. Look at his face, the way his arm is outstretched as if ready for combat, is this a happy picture? The colours certainly suggest it is, so do the row of beers, the boxes and bags of goods displayed on the shelves behind him. But the man himself - what is he thinking and why has Hanson caught that particular pose?

The landscape Captain's One Stop, with its cluster of wooden buildings raised on stilts, is equally disturbing. On the surface all seems a happy mix of colours, set against the green landscape, but look again and you will find your eye being dragged to the bottom right-hand corner where it is anything but bright.

This exhibition, which fills both the ground floor and space in the upper gallery, offers us a chance to view scenes through the eyes of a very talented artist who has not over-romanticised what he's seen.