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April 22 (AG)²An exhibition of silver one-off jewellery pieces inspired by Chinese/Asian design
A collaboration between Jason Lu and Kevin Attard
 www.jasonlu.com
ww.silverfiligreemalta.com
April 10
Confessions of an artist
Walking into the Auberge d’Italie a few days before Alfred
Chircop’s exhibition opened to the public, I was utterly stunned, shocked even.
Most of his paintings had not yet been hung, they were still
propped up against the walls of the airy Auberge’s corridors, yet although the
paintings were unmistakably his, they bore little semblance to his previous
body of work which is forever impressed in my mind. I searched the large
surfaces, for traces of what once was, yet there was little for me to latch
onto. My first impression, and I can’t say this any other way, was of utter
disappointment. I think back to the last exhibition of watercolour abstracts at
Middlesea House, and there seems to be an ocean separating the two shows. Then
again, whoever said that first impressions were right? Long-lasting maybe,
right not necessarily.
His once intricate works, full of complex sophisticated
forms, encapsulating hidden worlds within and beneath gloriously iridescent
hues, have been replaced, eradicated even. What I now picture before my eyes is
an explosion of colour, a not-so-silent scream which compels you to a point
that you dare not look away… and for this reason I am reminded of the oft
disquieting yet intensely captivating works of Raymond Pitré.
Yet I have to admit that my initial reaction and impression
was hasty and judgemental. I, like many others, expected more of the same, more
of the Chircop that Malta has grown accustomed to. Chircop was almost
dependable that way. High expectations any expectation for that matter, rarely
lives up to what we conjure in our mind’s eye. He is, after all, the man who
managed, almost single-handedly, to convert many of those who seemed rebuked,
offended and utterly baffled by the abstract idiom when it hit our shores. So I
comfort myself into thinking that my initial reaction wasn’t totally unfounded.
Looking back however, I was foolish to think that at 70 something, Chircop’s
artistic evolution had ceased to unravel.
So I went to see the works a second time, and on that
occasion I was shocked for a very different reason: staring at me right in the
eye, directly in front of the Auberge’s main entrance, was some kind of
football display of all things… It was the first thing to “greet” each and
every visitor entering the building and as such thoroughly overshadowed the
paintings on display. I cannot understand how the MTA, the ministry or whoever
the organiser, could allow for two such inherently jarring exhibitions to
co-habit the same space.
Returning to Chircop’s works however… On my second viewing,
I tried to look and delve deeper… yet these works, these immense works, no
longer have that depth of space in which you can easily lose yourself. The
expressive brush-strokes covering large expanses of the canvases, take charge
of the senses of passers-by, and the once hovering forms receding deep within
the painting’s surface, are now advancing (at times menacingly) into the
visitor’s space.
The works have lost their quiet tranquillity – a crucial
element also heightened by the artist’s choice of palette – that sense of
spiritual abandon; instead they seem to be questioning the very nature of
existence and Chircop seems to be questioning his own existence. The strong
sensation imparted by these paintings was somewhat explained when I read Mario
Buhagiar’s appreciation quoting Chircop’s influence from the writings of
Teilhard de Chardin’s as well as the Book of Psalms. The paintings all at once
seemed to gain a new-found significance.
Tranquillity has thus given way to an almost aggressive
innate force which leaps and bounds. This palpable charge coupled with sheer
magnitude is what makes these works so irresistible... yet I do feel that the
intensity and immensity of the paintings is such that the individual works
required more breathing space. If this had been employed, the visitors’ focus
and attention could have been better invested in any one work, before the next
explosion of colour whisked you away.
Most of the paintings are densely packed, a quasi vacuum or
horror vaquii if you like. Layer upon layer, colour upon colour, with texture
abounding in places, while in others the pigment is left almost translucent and
the markings of the brush are clearly evident to the naked eye. Weight is
distributed accordingly, often shifting dramatically from top to bottom or from
left to right of the painting’s surface.
Chircop is undeniably a purely abstract artist seemingly in
search of answers to his lifelong questions, the frustrations of which are
clearly manifest in his bold renderings of inexplicable and unfathomable
expanses of sheer uninhibited colour. His paintings are public confessions of
his every doubt, fear, victory and goal. It is hard to attach some worldly
aspect or association to these works; at most one can try to detect an emotion
or fleeting sensation… Yet these paintings are visual testimony to a man’s
struggle to release the undying artistic passion trapped within an ultimately
expiring and withering body.
February 24
WHAT YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE MISSED IN 2008
I was given the challenge of taking a
look at the visual art shows that took place over last year to see
which of the shows were on the not-to-be-missed list and which got people
talking…
The Start artists definitely made a come last
year, not only with group or collective shows, but also with solo exhibitions.
It was a busy year for Raphael Vella who organised Reading Cabinets at SJC and
also published an accompanying book among many other projects; whilst Pierre
Portelli created a huge concrete structure titled Greymatter, which was placed
upon the entire stretch of marble flooring of SJC’s main gallery. Returning to the
book-theme and the written word, last year Ruth Bianco set up a show titled
Mile of Paper at the National Museum of Fine Arts, which used the ground
floor’s picture galleries instead of the purposely designated temporary
exhibition space. What these exhibitions had in common was the extent to which
the three artists challenged the space at their disposal, either by literally
building structures which visitors had to climb on, slalom and weave through or
draw open in order to reveal their contents.
2008 was also marked by prestigious commissions to celebrate
the year of Intercultural Dialogue for which Norbert Francis Attard created 50
blown-up photographs titled Where are you from? for Freedom
Square in Valletta,
which became an open-air gallery for three months or so and gave the
dilapidated City-Gate some much needed invigoration – an initiative which will
hopefully be upheld during the course of the year
Yet the most significant step for art in Malta
has been Mark Mangion’s initiative to set up the Malta Contemporary Art foundation
in an industrial warehouse in Marsa. The first visual art show was a collective
exhibition with 18 participants, nine of which comprising the Start group, who
had not collaborated on a project since the Blitz exhibition held in 2005.
In comparison to the conceptual art or installation-based
exhibitions, the shows pertinent to the realms of painting appeared to fall
short in standards and quality when compared to the vast number of solo and
collective exhibitions organised over the span of the last 12 months.
However, there have
been a number of shows which caused a positive stir: one of the more memorable
shows was the Scent exhibition which utilised the unprecedented venue of St
John’s Cavalier to host a collective exhibition of
paintings the likes and calibre of which has not been seen or felt in the
country for a number of years. The works of Anton Grech, Austin Camilleri,
Vince Briffa, Pawl Carbonaro and John Grima graced the roughly hewn walls of
the Cavalier. There was however, an
immediately evident disparity between three of the Start artists who worked in
a semi-abstract and figurative idiom and the two Gozo-based artists who worked
in a strictly non-representational “style”.
Last year, French artist based in Malta,
Laurent Muller, set-up an impressive show with some 96 pieces, titled Itinéraires
at the Auberge d’Italie. Here the artist presented series of abstract minimal
works and figurative pieces in ink, as well as engravings. Celia Borg Cardona
also organised a strong show at Gallery G with her People Watching exhibition
featuring paintings with all sorts of precarious and awkward angles or
viewpoints; whilst Isabelle Borg’s Strange Cargo at the National Museum of Fine
Arts (underway till January 30) saw the return of the artist’s iconic paintings
in suitcases.
Caesar Attard was the chosen candidate for last year’s BoV
retrospective, which was an insightful journey into the multifaceted and
experimental nature of an artist whom I reckon will remain forever young.
Three exhibitions were held in 2008 for artists who passed
away in recent times. Grazzi Malta
was an exhibition of works by Olaug Vethal, organised by Christine Xuereb as
homage to the life and work of the Norwegian artist. Whilst last June an exhibition
with Ebba von Fersen Balzan’s sketchbook drawings was set up at NUVO art and
dine in Marsascala, and later in the year an extensive publication of her works
was also published. Another exhibition to commemorate the life and work of
Carmelo Mangion, who passed away in 1997 was held at the Caraffa Stores,
Vittoriosa Waterfront, for which a grand mammoth of book was also published.
Heritage Malta (HM) also put up some interesting shows: worthy
of mention are the Victor Pasmore commemorative exhibition, Victor Koulbak’s
unique series of silverpoint works and Anthony Catania’s Piper’s Requiem. HM
should also be applauded for making the Tal-Pilar Church available for
temporary shows: Anna Nightingale’s exhibition for instance marked a
significant departure from the norm, however proper hanging and lighting facilities
need to be addressed should the space be considered for future shows.
Nevertheless, 2008 was not only a year of exhibitions, but
also one in which new spaces for contemporary art emerged: photographer
Alexandra Pace converted a four storey Valletta
town-house into a gallery which kicked off with a four show project, which she
collectively titled Redprints. The gallery - No. 68 St
Lucy Street is open for the proposal of other
events and projects. Besides No. 68, BPC opened their own gallery adjacent to
the company’s main premises; the designation and function of this gallery
however, remains somewhat uncertain and nothing has been heard since the first
exhibition - a collective show featuring the works of 22 artists, came to an end.
Although art in Malta
is considered backward in relation to other countries, it is rapidly evolving,
and Maltese artists are churning out some impressive work and talent. 2008 has
been an eventful year for the arts…next on the list is a proper museum to host
modern and contemporary art.
January 23
Watching
people watchers
We are all
victims of people watchers. Nevertheless we are often also the culprits who
commit the same crime to which we fall victim.
People
watching, sometimes also called crowd watching is literally the act of
observing people - their actions, reactions and interactions - usually without
their knowledge. This does not necessarily involve an element of eavesdropping,
however sound and noise pose a significant contribution to the overall ‘experience’
enhancement.
It is often
deemed a casual hobby, yet people watching can also be used formally as a means
for sociological, anthropological or even psychological research.
People watching
is a popular and contemporary practice, which seems to denote that those who do
not dare to partake in the action – whatever this may be - just watch. This
voyeuristic tendency (minus any sexual connotation) has also been the theme of
a British sitcom, simply titled Watching. Moreover, in 2000, a collective
exhibition held at the Charles H. MacNider Art Museum in Iowa, was specifically titled People
Watchers; the show featured the works of Isabel Bishop (1902-1988), Adolf Dehn (1895-1968),
Reginald Marsh (1898-1954), and Grant Wood (1891-1942).
It therefore comes
as no surprise that Celia Borg Cardona has dedicated her most recent series of
paintings to the art of people watching – a hobby (or habit?) which she seems
incessantly preoccupied with and which reveals her fascination with human
interaction.
Held at Gallery
G, Ms Borg Cardona’s paintings do not fail to reveal her virtuosity and
confident handling of the medium of oil, acrylic, charcoal or even pastel.
However her virtuosity was never in doubt. The different take on this
exhibition is an added veil of self-assurance when it comes to choosing or
deciding on that crucial moment – between unfinished or overworked - in which a
painting can be declared complete.
The qualities
which she displayed in her studies, preparatory sketches or in the occasional
and sporadic works shown in previous exhibitions have now become part and
parcel of her present oeuvre. She knows when a work is complete even though
this may seem otherwise to some viewers; she is not afraid to leave entire
segments of the canvas or board vacant and void of paint.
The quality of
space distribution plays an important role in many of Ms Borg Cardona’s works.
Spaces often create patterns or gaps which seemingly need to be bridged, at
least in real life if not in the painting. Space also creates tension and dictates
the nature of certain relationships in awkward albeit overt ways.
Gallery G is a
very imposing space in which to exhibit, almost on a par with St James
Cavalier. I have often gone to view an exhibition there and been more engrossed
in the architecture and the general surroundings rather than the paintings or
sculptures on display. However, this is not the case with Ms Borg Cardona’s
works which have immediate impact and command the whole of the viewers’
attention. This is not only due to the sheer size and magnitude of some of the
works, but also to their subject matter, context, chromatic intensity and a
particularly sharp angled perspective.
The latter is
perhaps the element which sets these works apart from those presented in her
previous solo exhibition, Streetlife. Although many of the elements of the
People Watching paintings were evident in the past exhibition - including
subject matter - an added sketchy freshness and unfinished quality coupled with
the aforementioned sharp and often awkward angles largely characterise these
works.
In fact, I
think it is fairly safe to say that Ms Borg Cardona utilises photographs as
points of departure on which her paintings are then based. That, or else she
possesses a true photographer’s eye.
So much so, that
on some occasions, paintings seem to be a continuation of one another and the
final result is simply another frame in the series. Aerial, rear and bird’s eye
views are favoured, which are in turn coupled with a mixture of long-shots or
close-ups.
She has a
definite penchant for crowds – the closely knit groups as well as those which
are scattering or dispersing. Only one work ‘As you go by’ has a ‘lack’ of
people. This does not mean to say that the street portrayed is uninhabited or
totally devoid of the human element, but that it seems the only instance in
which people are not the main stars of the show – where people are dwarfed in
their surroundings and do not have that commanding presence as in the other
works.
Her
surroundings and chosen contexts are varied and multifarious – the social scenes
range from theatre, to village feasts, to passengers on the Gozo-ferry or even
to members of a congregation. The surroundings however, take a backseat in the
overall work, where the focus and pivotal force of the painting is the human
figure. Whether captured in motion, expectant of action or caught in a
hand-shake, there is no doubt that these figures are portrayed from reality,
and from their natural habitat, not conjured up in some whimsical artist’s
fantasy. They are snapshots from everyday life, and in looking out of this
window we are looking into the artist’s world.
Through her
work, it is as though she is questioning those people who live their lives
through others, or at least those who necessitate an external approval in order
to proceed in their course of action.
Ms Borg Cardona
does not necessitate the approval of anyone however. Her statement is simple
and crystal clear, it is not guised beneath some foreign veneer, nor is it
enveloped in a sea of alienation. She is simply a painter of people 
December 07 A
painter PAINTER
When
it comes to visual artist Austin Camilleri nothing can ever be taken
at face value.
In
1999, his transportable site(s) specific work which can also be classified
under the land art genre, was dubbed, “a stone is a stone is a stone”
(Stones exhibition catalogue, 1999). And now, a painting has become
a painting painting, or its Maltese and French equivalent pittura
pittura / peinture peinture.
The latter is in fact the chosen title of his recent solo show currently
underway at Galerie GNG in Paris.
His
need to emphasize his return to the painting genre has been manifest
since 2006 after an absence of some 10 years. Yet, the time which elapsed
in between, Camilleri’s name became somewhat synonymous with babies
whose expression is permanently captured in a silent scream, as well
as a string of complex and often elaborate conceptual works and installations
through which he has distinguished himself as one of Malta’s foremost
contemporary artists.
Therefore,
this is not the first occasion in which Camilleri is showing a new
corpus of works. In fact, just last month, Camilleri presented five
works in the collective exhibition entitled Scent which was held
at St John’s Cavalier, housing the Embassy of the Sovereign Military
Hospitaller Order of St John of Jerusalem. Some of the Parisian works
were already presented in this show whilst a larger collection was featured
even prior to this when Camilleri’s new vein of paintings graced the
walls of The Sinclair Stevenson Gallery in Għarb, Gozo during the 2006 Open Late
exhibiton.
The time that has elapsed between Camilleri presenting one collection of paintings and the next
might be the reason why he felt the need to emphasize his return to
painting through the use of repetition in his latest exhibition title
– Peinture Peinture - lest viewers or spectators should feel
confused by the renewed association of his name.
When
reviewing the Scent exhibition I had commented that Camilleri was reutilising
older works as ‘ground’ on which to build his new oeuvre. However,
he has taken this a step further by painting on, and reutilising works
which he had commissioned other artists to make.
With
this series of paintings Camilleri therefore wants to emphasise the
idea of corrupted history – a new pictorial pseudo philosophy which
is intended towards the subjectivity and the impurity of the unravelling
story of the past written in textbooks or brought down generations through
oral traditions.
The
imperfection of history is translated into Camilleri’s paintings whereby
small snippets and segments of older works which constitute mere underlayers
of the new paintings, are purposely revealed in the surface of the reworked
piece. In the artist’s words, he is contaminating the past.
This notion of exposing small windows for viewers to see previous, past
works - whether those made by Camilleri himself, or even those by another
artist - accentuates and heightens the manipulative ways of society.
Here, Camilleri might be hinting at the artist-rivalry or even the ‘plagiarism’
and uncanny similarity of artworks which often sprouts in a small country
like Malta or Gozo.
The
quest to retain originality coupled with gaining the approval from the
art community is a harsh and tricky balance to strike; unfortunately
I feel too many artists succumb to the claws of that which is ‘safe’
or commercial.
The
same can not be said of Camilleri’s work however, which is positively
aggressive and charged with a fervent energy which ripples beneath the
surface (or should I say surfaces?). Yet this strength is not always
immediately noticeable, and many of his works require that the viewer
becomes fully engaged in their entirety; his paintings necessitate a
thorough inspection, from corner to corner, side to side. Once up-close
and personal, the paintings reveal a multitude of detail which from
a metre or so away could have appeared inexistent. Details comes in
subtle doses such as scratch marks, often revealing words and phrases
which could then be repeated several times within the same work. Camilleri
also makes use of typography in many recent works, through which he
submits his non-subliminal random and messages.
In
these paintings, there is very little trace of the Austin Camilleri
who produced the intricate and chiefly abstract works dating to the
1990s. At times there is similarity in the overall choice of palette
and the general ‘spirit’ of the work, other than that however there
is nothing to remind us of his old ‘style’.
Colour,
tones and quasi decipherable forms are some of the recurring elements
in this body of work, which often contains force and sheer contrast
of chromatic intensity especially when Camilleri uses a particularly
vibrant red pigment, very unique to his recent work, coupled with
the luminosity of pure, almost blinding white. Other elements include
the stylized eight-pointed cross, the weightless yet monolithic-like
mandorla shapes, and others reminiscent of severed limbs or pulsating
organs.
In
most of these paintings, shapes, contours and ‘outlines’ are almost
rendered in cut-out form or silhouette; simultaneously however, these
sectioned-off areas possess few of the harsh qualities of a silhouette.
Rather, these forms are enshrined within a sea of paint and contrast
is only created through the elimination or application of pigment upon
chosen portions of his surface, therefore revealing the work’s previous
skins and layers.
After viewing this series of works, there is no doubt that Austin Camilleri
is a painter – actually, he is a painter painter. His strong,
fine painterly technique shines through the myriad of qualities and
elements which he chooses to impart upon his works, with a random precision
yet sheer gusto for art. Published in The Sunday Times of Malta, December 7, 2008.
  
November 04
Exhibitions worth viewing:
Angels Fall First
An exhibition of paintings by Anna Nightingale
Tal-Pilar Church, West Street Valletta. October 31 - November 30
People Watching
An exhibition of paintings by Celia Borg Cardona
Gallery G Lija, 8 - 29 November October 28
Girl… not woman, not female, but girl
This word suggests the period of transition between childhood and puberty; that crucial period of change leading to the complete metamorphosis of the body into one replete with physicality, sexuality and ultimately, fertility.
Girl is the protagonist of this series of ‘interviews’
Interviews generally denote formal meetings; exchanges of information between consenting (or non consenting) persons, through elicitation or the capabilities of direction (linguistic or artistic) of a ‘master of ceremonies’.
Girl comes in different shapes, sizes.
Sultry and seductive; carefree and bohemian; poised and dignified; exotic and mysterious: mere sets of adjectives… possessing distinct and diverse nuances of lure and fascination.
Girl in monochrome versus girl in colour
Bright 80s flavoured posterised images, combining popular culture with textured surfaces akin to a digital silk-screen juxtaposing a collage of rich and intricate detail. Colour is contrasted by carefully orchestrated ‘exercises’ of artistic direction evidenced by plays of light, shadow and a multitude of tones and in between gradations.
Girl under scrutiny = girl laid bare
These are complementary couplings of contemporary elements in urban environments, sparse landscapes or abstracted backdrops. Placed in a variety of surroundings and settings, she takes on an air, an attitude, she becomes part of the framework, of the structure, of nature. She becomes one of us.
Girl… not woman, not female, but girl*
*Foreword to the Girl; interviewed exhibition catalogue by Kenneth Borg and Paul Mizzi. The exhibition runs till November 21 at The Malta Maritime Museum in Vittoriosa.
September 23
A mini ecosystem at St James Cavalier
Pierre Portelli has been creating installations and interactive pieces for well over
a decade, but has been thrown into the contemporary spotlight most especially
since his emergence as member with the art-group stART.
His most recent work, greymatter is probably one of the largest and most space-challenging pieces which he has insofar presented in Malta. Presently found in the lower galleries of St James Cavalier Centre for Creativity, greymatter is essentially made up of three segments: a large block or concrete compound laid on the main hall's marble flooring, and two specifically constructed upright 'walls' found at either end of the concrete sculpture. Although it might not possess the free-standing or 'in the round' qualities one would normally associate with the plastic arts, the concrete compound possesses strong tactile and sculptural properties.
The most curious element of this installation, and one which ties the three segments together is, however, a narrow strip of grass embedded within the concrete sculpture. The strip of 'turf' is highly appealing and one might even feel compelled to run their fingers through the blades of grass, thereby reinforcing the sculptural properties of the piece.
On inspection, one will notice that the strip of grass, which is watered regularly, has generated a certain amount of life. Flies and insects, as well as patches of mould are evident, therefore establishing Portelli's creation as a mini ecosystem in itself. Portelli has thus managed to bring the outdoors indoors.
The holistic experience of Portelli's installation is peaceful and zen-like; a sensation which is enhanced by the dim hall lighting, the lack of background music and should one be feeling particularly adventurous, also the cold sensation of concrete beneath one's feet (yes… I felt I needed to remove my shoes).
The quasi Jacobean floral patterned wall papered, yet un-concertinaed Japanese screens 'seal-off' either end of the concrete structure, obstructing and concealing the several metre long slab from view when entering the main hall. Up close, this typically English floral pattern becomes a fly-infested bed of flowers, elements of which mirror the unintended 'mini-ecosystem'. Simultaneously these ‘parallel’ elements distinctly set apart the fertile growing ‘earth’ from the ornately decorated yet contaminated surfaces of flora.
I think it is fair to say that Portelli enjoys including elements of 'disturbance' in his work, if not creating works which entirely constitute a disturbance in themselves. By disturbance I mean that he almost relishes defeating the spectators' expectations of what a work of art should constitute, where it should be placed/found, what dimensions it should have and how one is supposed to (not?) interact with it.
While observing the sculpture, visitors seemed decidedly disinclined to mount the concrete surface and have a gentle stride upon it. As viewers, 'interpreters' or appreciators of art we seem to have this pre-conceived notion that art-works should not be touched, let alone walked over. We are taught that we should admire art from a distance; but what if the item under scrutiny is cumbersome and impedes our motion?
Quite appropriately, the entire installation takes on a catwalk-like appearance and the length of the concrete structure does tend to lend itself to the actions and motions typical of fashion-shows. Greymatter can also be viewed in terms of a pavement/pedestrian zone occupying a large part of the split-levelled hall of St James, spanning the distance between the two shallow stair-cases. The structure literally constitutes a physical and visual barrier between the two atriums, and in order to arrive to the desired destination, one must either thread over the piece or find an alternative route.
Some may be inclined to think that greymatter is an environmental piece, however it incorporates a wider spectrum of events and subjects. The purposely crafted crack in the pavement could represent one of many metaphors and analogies, such as a rupture in society for instance or the fatidic yin and yang. Yet Portelli’s main point of reference is the “hostile environment” often encountered by creativity which is capable of germinating and sprouting in the most unlikely of places. Life however, exists even on the wasteland.
Greymatter speaks of growth and process. It was borne, it flourished in a sea of adversity, and it shall also be destroyed. The finissage and deconstruction of the conceptual sculpture will be held next Monday, thereby completing the cycle and process of the artistic venture. The public will be allowed to view the process and keep a sculptural memento.
Greymatter is part of an ongoing multi-phase project entitled Amazing Race.
www.pierreportelli.com
   July 23
A mile long journey
The National Museum of Fine Arts in Valletta generally has two temporary exhibitions running simultaneously in the purposely allocated spaces of the Contemporary Hall and the Loggia of the courtyard. However, for a brief period of time, those who venture to the museum will be pleasantly surprised and confronted by additional works of art interacting with the permanent collection.
This is due to part of a double exhibition event which have Ruth Bianco at their root and core. One exhibition is entitled Mile of Paper: this is a collective show presenting the works of the students of the MA/MFA programmes of the University College of Creative Arts in Kent, UK together with the works of Ruth Bianco herself who teaches within the programme, and Richard Davies - director of the MA Fine Art programmes. Whilst the other exhibition is entitled tourism.com (please note that this is just an exhibition title and not the name of an actual website) which is a joint video installation by Bianco and Davies. Unfortunately, the latter was only on show till the 5th of July, it is nevertheless more than appropriate to mention it here as it shall be touring to Austria in August and shown at the BV Gallery, Landes-Kultur Zentrum, in Linz.
Mile of Paper is an extremely engaging bookart installation, whereby thirty or so foldable ‘books’ have been strategically placed around the lower museum galleries – thus altering the dynamics of the space(s) in question. This is not an entirely novice idea per se, in fact last year Mark Mangion used the same ploy for one of his The Search for a Space shows, which was also housed at the NMFA. However, in Bianco’s case, this installation is a direct reference or homage to Marcel Duchamp’s (1887-1968) Mile of String exhibition held back in 1942 in New York.
To view this exhibition, visitors must literally weave or perhaps sashay their way through the ‘miles of paper’ which either hang from the ceiling, or are seemingly placed haphazardly on coffers, seats, shallow or high pedestals or simply left on the floor in a circular or zigzag pattern. Some of these concertinaed books are double-sided and meant to be viewed from both the front and the back, like a sculpture, whilst others have a single and one-sided viewpoint. In fact these books have strong affinities with sculptures; the sculptural quality they possess is one which has decidedly been enhanced through the insightful use of plinths. I say this much because after all these works can be viewed (in most cases at least) in the round, even though they are not necessarily freestanding. The edgy outward-inward motion of the concertina gives depth and shadow whilst in some cases, added elements such as tags, string or thread give texture and tactility to the individual pieces.
The ‘green room’ (as I like to call it) which is dedicated to Italian art, is perhaps the most impressive in terms of the ‘alteration’ of space. Here the red-element is quite prominent and somewhat domineering as well as an incisive means of contrast to the coloured walls – it is also a visual aid which guides the spectator’s eyes from side to side and corner to corner. Besides the predominance of red however, there are a few of the individual works which command a very different kind of attention, it is thus opportune to zoom into and focus on a few of these pieces: Ruth Bianco’s work is entitled Dead Famous (is it also a direct reference to Ben Elton’s book bearing the same title or to the LivingTV show? I wonder…) and it is comprised of a number of black and white reproductions of photos and images of famous personalities and characters in history – real and invented. The faces of Lady Di, John Lennon, Pablo Picasso, Mother Theresa, Mona Lisa and Gandhi (just to mention a few) look out on us, surrounded by a multitude of dangling blank tags (again a reference to transportability). It is a repertoire of images void of colour except for a single instance in which a pink image of Minnie Mouse serves to break the tone. Obviously Minnie Mouse stands out amongst the rest, if merely because the image is in colour or perhaps because it represents the only example extracted from the animated world. The question is whether it is actually the image which is most immediately recognisable amidst the sea of black and white faces… one is left to ponder the possibility of whether cartoons have attained the status, importance and notoriety of those who have helped shape the world…
Richard Davies also presents an interesting work entitled Performing within a discernable range; this is a photographic work, related to the context and happenings in China and to the Beijing Olympic Games to be held later this year; it is also somewhat correlated to the tourism.com video installation he presented with Ruth Bianco. The bride stripped bare by her ironing board, Even., is Gillian Mary Metcalfe’s contribution to this exhibition and is another direct reference to Marcel Duchamp and to one of his most iconic works. Unfortunately it is impossible to mention the thirty plus bookart works which comprise this exhibition although most of them would deserve the attention.
The collective impact of these books also lies in the understanding of them as objects outside the realm of art. Essentially, they are very ordinary little black books – when closed that is; sketch-pads which could easily be purchased from a stationer’s or art-shop – roughly A5 in size and measuring so many centimetres in length, height and width. Inside these books however, are locked a thousand or more secrets, which cannot simply be read as one would a book. These books are more akin to diaries – reading them, or rather, interpreting them, is an open invitation to violate their author’s privacy. As closed books, these objects also take on an added quality of functionality – that of being easily portable and transportable – a quality which allowed for them to be placed in a suitcase and arrive to their present destination from the UK.
In the light of this bookart exhibition, it really is very poignant to say that one cannot judge a book by its cover…
Mile of Paper is on show at The National Museum of Fine Arts in Valletta, till the 26th of July*
*This article appeared in the The Times of Malta, 23.7.2008
  
July 13
THE L9 CONSPIRACY THEORY
An exhibition of paintings by Fabrizio Ellul
After the inauguration of his first solo exhibition (titled MITTE and held between March-April 2007) at the National Museum of Fine Arts in Valletta, Fabrizio Ellul was approached and offered to set-up an exhibition in Frankfurt, with which Zabbar – Ellul’s home-town, has a twinning agreement.
The works he is presenting in Germany are altogether characterized by a very different spirit to those exhibited last in Malta. In comparison to the 9 large paintings which comprised the MITTE exhibition, Fabrizio Ellul’s new works almost look like miniatures – albeit commercialized miniatures, in the shape, size and format of a postcard; compact in size, but dense with meaning.
Fabrizio Ellul has chosen to title his exhibition, The L9 Conspiracy Theory which per se sounds like quite an ambiguous conundrum to fathom and relate to this series of works. It thus deserves some form of explanation: L9 is simply the ‘name’ of a railway track in Berlin, whilst the ‘Conspiracy Theory’ is related to his personal views and ramblings regarding politics, religion and other events/happenings occurring post September 11th. The two are not in any way correlated; they are simply a whimsical mesh of ear-pleasing sounds.
This exhibition combines a variety of aspects of the painter’s artistic nature – such as his wit and crude sense of humour, as well as his interest in contemporary art and culture of which he is often critical and contemplative. These qualities have been conjoined and transformed into a concern which has become the central theme of his works. His ‘postcards’ (for lack of a better descriptive word) are almost a mockery of the beautified yet typical landscapes/seascapes which we are more than accustomed to seeing on sale, if not also ‘guilty’ of purchasing from souvenir shops in tourist venues. There are no mountain-tops depicted here, or flowing seas and rivers. Rather, Ellul is presenting us with a very different array of images as an alternative view to the scenes reflecting the physical beauty, heritage and culture of any given country. Instead, he has taken some mundane, or iconic and even memorable instances in history and twisted them around so as to create a personal statement; this is further enhanced through the trend and collective gathering of these images – this statement is sometimes political, other times it contains mild nuances of eroticism or vulgarity, and with others still it is simply a ‘Kodak-moment’ with the addition of an element of disturbance. Admittedly, Ellul might not be painting a pretty picture, yet it is apt and direct - no frills or hidden meanings have been attached to confuse or inhibit viewers from comprehending their message. His is a statement for the consumer-society, which is also directed towards our industrial cum technological revolution. All the picture-perfects have strong elements of imperfection. They are as imperfect as our world and our very beings.
Fabrizio Ellul is essentially a very young painter who is evolving and distinguishing himself amongst his peers rapidly. His paintings constitute a nucleus in themselves and one can hardly attribute a whole string of Maltese influences to his name, as is the case with many other young artists. If anything, Ellul looks beyond our shores for influence and inspiration, and does not limit this inspiration solely to other visual art forms but also extends and dips into the realms of history and literature. In fact, in his first exhibition one could easily detect his preoccupation and interest in American Art – specifically with the periods commencing with Abstract Expressionism. In fact he seems to be quite ‘hung-up’ with popular culture – not in terms of Lichtenstein, or Warhol, but a neo-Pop culture which incorporates a larger and wider spectrum of contemporary issues.
His concerns as a painter have thus changed – his initial interest in abstraction slowly seems to have fizzled out, and has been replaced by an ever-increasing aptitude towards that which is representational, yet non-conformist. Colour and texture of paint originally played an almost exclusive role in his paintings, yet line and concept are steadfastly balancing out this initial monopoly. He has also introduced a child-like naïveté in his works, whereby faces are often scribbled out or roughly coloured in with no regard being paid to lines or borders. So much so that some of these works have a quasi colouring-book effect to them.
From abstract to figurative; from expressive to linear…a complete cycle one might say, or simply a natural and healthy progression of events? Will the concepts within his inquisitive mind suffice to be manifest on a two-dimensional plane or will they gradually be translated into something more literally tangible? The questions abound, and the uncertainty of the outcome is pleasing…
The L9 Conspiracy Theory was on show at the Eschborn Museum in Frankfurt, Germany between the 25th of May and the 29th of June 2008.**
www.fabrizioellul.com
**This article was published in The Weekender (supplement of The Times of Malta)
 
June 21
Exhibitions worth viewing at the moment:
Caesar Attard Retrospective
Bank of Valletta Centre, Sta. Venera - 21st June - 31st July 2008
tourism.com - smoking butts from ashtrays*
A video installation by Ruth Bianco and Richard Davies
20th June - 6th July 2008
Mile of Paper* (curated by Ruth Bianco)
group show by the researchers of the MA/MFA programmes
of the University College for the Creative Arts, Kent, UK
20th June - 26th July 2008
*This is a double exhibition event @
The National Museum of Fine Arts, Valletta
June 02
Itineraries
An exhibition of paintings and engravings by Laurent Muller, held at The Auberge d'Italie, 6th May - 3rd June 2008.
Artists are, in essence, vain people who want the world to witness their creations. Simultaneously, they are humble enough to expose their inner-most secrets, and generous enough to want to share portions of their world even with perfect strangers.
Laurent Muller is one such artistic creature who is essentially driven by an innate force to make manifest his creative persona. In this exhibition, aptly titled Itineraries, Laurent has not limited himself by presenting a single series of themed interconnected paintings, but rather a developmental series of works which trace his artistic trajectory in recent years. He is a temperamental artist who works in bouts, spurts and phases – ideas, concepts, emotions or a particular period in life are translated into separate yet continuous series of calamitous works. His process can be compared to a narrative or to the making of a cartoon whereby each frame is marginally yet significantly dissimilar to the last.
This exhibition therefore features a variety of diverse works, ranging from figurative to non-representational paintings in ink, to engravings. Despite the seemingly eclectic nature of the show, Laurent’s imprint is evident in each piece; the variety is a visual testimony to his continual unravelling evolution. The venue for this exhibition has been transformed into a space that outlines this growth and as we ‘travel’ along the corridors of the Auberge d’Italie, we experience Laurent’s journey of self-discovery, thus becoming active participants and partaking in his process. This exhibition is a culminating point in his career so far, yet also a stepping-stone towards his next venture.
Laurent Muller’s background and training in industrial design contribute to his strong sense of space and balance in terms of composition. On some occasions he favours a minimalist approach and idiom, reminiscent of Joan Miro’ (minus the essential prime colours and stiff black outlines). On other occasions however, his paintings are multi-layered pieces, dense and intense with intertwined and meshed forms which dominate most of the surface. Whether simple or complex, his compositions possess forms which stem from and ‘live-off’ of one another; elements are juxtaposed to create a circular spiralling motion which leaves our eyes to wander incessantly. This vortex of organic forms seem to expand and contract, taking on different poses and stances, because in actuality, these (chiefly) abstract elements often take on a tangible and recognisable appearance.
Laurent uses a restricted palette of earth colours, whereby each constitutes a temporal band and expanse. Colours turn into shapes and forms which often overlap one another or bleed into and integrate with those applied before it. Hence a painting combines a number of separate entities which interact and coexist to make a unified whole. The edges of these forms retain an excess of pigment allowing for an unknowing and natural borderline to form, which gradually dilutes and spreads out evenly to create the ‘body’ of his veloured shapes.
Most of Laurent’s work incorporates elements of contrast alien to the ink-medium –These may be small touches of a fluorescent orange pigment which allow the eye to be further drawn into the painting, or strong lines of finality, in pencil, mirroring Lucio Fontana’s canvas-tears. But most have a cross or sweeping arc made from a self-concocted granular paste, often given a dark ground. This element of texture is similar to the effect of tyre-marks in fresh tarmac, which is a distinct counter-balance to the ink’s chiffon-like quality.
As one journey draws to an end, another ensues - this journey is about transcendence and fusion….many of Laurent Muller’s works bear parallelisms and strongly binding elements. Forms are often repeated and reinterpreted between paintings and engravings, or between figurative and abstracted pieces. In several works, the elements seem to want to break away from the constraints of borders or frames, these same forms are steadily growing and gaining a sculptural physicality. Perhaps it is Laurent who is feeling restrained within the confines of representation within a two-dimensional ‘reality’, and is simply searching for a way-out of the labyrinth.
This is the text I wrote for the Itineraires exhibition catalogue: May-June 2008
 
May 25
Today,
The L9 Conspiracy Theory
opens at the Eschborn Museum, Frankfurt Germany -
25th May - 29th June, 2008.
This is Fabrizio Ellul's second solo exhibition...
and a marked difference to the works he had exhibited in MITTE,
yet quite a natural progression from the chiefly non-figurative
towards the representational and linear.
Here's wishing him lot's of luck in his second important artistic venture...
May 15     
These photos were taken Wednesday 7th May - at the opening of Ljupco Samardziski's exhibition at B'Art Gallery!
Photos taken by Zvezdan Reljic...
Thanks so much for sending me copies Ljupco and Gordana xxx
May 10
Exhibitions which I recommend viewing:
Revelation - An exhibition of painting by Raphael Labro
At the Citadel Art Centre, Victoria Gozo. The exhibitions runs till the 19th of this month.
(This exhibition will later be hosted at the Mediterranen Conference Centre in Valletta between the
12th and 21st of June 2008)
Let me light up your life - An exhibition of paintings by Ljupco Samardziski
At B'Art gallery, 39 Amery Str., Sliema. The exhibition will run till the 31st of this month.
At the Ministry of Tourism, Merchant's Str., Valletta. The exhibition runs till the 3rd of June.
Mikrokosmos - An exhibition of paintings by Helga Portanier
At The Contemporary Hall, The National Museum of Fine Arts, South Str., Valletta. The exhibition runs till the 9th of June.
May 03
Facial frameworks
Just a mere six months ago, The Contemporary Hall at the National Museum of Fine Arts in Valletta hosted an exhibition of figure-studies titled BODIES, by three young Maltese artists. Jesmond Vassallo, who was one of these three collaborating artists, has returned to exhibit in the same venue, this time pairing up with Italian artist Francesco Astiaso Garcia. Yet, instead of the writhing, contorted and often vaguely erotic bodies, captured in a variety of stances, in the process of a movement or action, we are confronted by stares and pairs of eyes coming from a ‘group’ of anonymous, distorted and anguished faces.
This exhibition, which was inaugurated on Friday the 28th of March, is titled Visage and as the title dictates, it is solely an exhibition of faces - portraits and self-portraits also feature to a certain extent, yet these do not have a dominant role in the show.
With an exhibition such as this, that is the collaboration or partnership of two artists coming from separate backgrounds, there is the grave risk of one artist outshining the other – which I feel is the case in point with this exhibition. This however, nowhere near implies that one is better than the other, rather that coupled side by side, these two artists’ works are somewhat mismatched.
Jesmond Vassallo presents his faces to the viewer in a variety of techniques and materials, namely - drawings, soft ground etchings and sculptures, whilst Garcia almost exclusively presents paintings, with the exception of a single piece which is a photo-montage, but which nevertheless still bears the juxtaposition of one of his self-portraits in a drawing. Thus, there is the immediate contrast and imbalance of painting versus sketch or study.
Vassallo has a very defined and distinct style primarily resulting from a confident, expressive and at times nervous line. His works instil in the viewer an overall fleeting sensation mixed with a feeling of immediacy which I can only compare to that felt when faced with the paintings of the late Olaug Vethal. His works might appear to be transitory quick studies for something greater yet-to-come, they are nevertheless more than acceptable as exhibition-pieces, especially when considering that they are simply vessels through which viewers interpret the multifarious aspects preoccupying this artist together with a need to externalise and materialise the study of one-self through the identification and projection of the self onto others. Vassallo’s works are moreover, carefully construed and composed, yet they seem effortless, and whatever the technique or medium used, there is hardly any doubt that the works were produced by the same hand - even when his faces are denoted though the sole use of ink-spots, seemingly random blotches of paint and bleeding pigments.Despite his training in figure-drawing, which is quite Italianate and betrays vague traces of traditionalism, he is nevertheless more than capable of breaking down a figure or a face in this case and representing it with only a handful of lines or brushstrokes. I refer particularly to the series depicting Antoine Camilleri – anyone who knew the artist or recalls pictures of him will undoubtedly make the connection.
Garcia’s paintings on the other hand, are subtle and have a somewhat delicate, fragile quality about them; perhaps it id the way in which he views and ‘reads’ both himself and his ‘sitters’. This frailty is not however a quality related to the technique, rendering or depiction of his faces, rather towards the prevalence of light and pastel colours, used together with a particular faintness of line. Not only are his lines faint, he also seems to use the sfumato technique in several occasions which is at times coupled with a particular transparent and matt quality probably resulting from the application of wax to his surfaces. Garcia’s style in the majority of the works presented in this exhibition evoke intrigue, and invite the viewer to their vicinity,so much so, that one almost engages in a physically intimate encounter with each work in order to appreciate them in their entirety. Up-close his paintings reveal great labour and painstaking exactitude, down to each scratch and line. He too possesses great strength and precision of line - assets which he however uses to a very different extent to Vassallo – in fact his faces would verge onto the photorealistic were it not for the expressionistic thick brushstrokes covering portions of his surfaces, together with the blurriness of lines and contours which in certain works assumes an almost glowing aura of spirituality.
Whether intended or not however, this exhibition is successful in giving the viewer the sensation of one under observation. For a good while I could not shake off the feeling of being summed-up and assessed, even though the faces of my ‘judges’ transpired a multitude of emotions and often bore very youthful features. The first time I viewed the works on display, the exhibition had not yet opened, neither had any captions been affixed to the panels. This gave me the opportunity to study the works and absorb their meaning without the hindrance of explanatory notes, pre-determined conceptions or the presence of other visitors to deflect my concentration. I could thoroughly focus on the works themselves, and let thoughts and sensations flow without the gnawing urge of wanting to look at the caption to verify whether my immediate sensation was indeed correct.
After viewing the exhibition for the third time, I am left to ponder…what is next in store for these artists? Will they continue to celebrate the human-figure through their work, or deviate from the subject completely? With technique and ability such as theirs, I can only look forward to ventures yet to come.
This review was published in The Weekender (supplement of The Times) on Saturday 26th April 2008
   
Images 1&2 by Jesmond Vassallo; Images 3&4 by Frncesco Astiaso Garcia April 24
It's been a while since I posted a poem on my blog...
the odd poem does emerge amidst the sea of articles and reviews...
MY LIFE in 16 lines
My life is like a frameless painting
Whose colours are spilling out of their confining border
And onto the floor below
My life is like a banoffee-flavoured ice-cream
That's slowly yet surely melting
In the heat of the sun
My life is like a gripping novel
Whose pages are flipped and turned with such speed
You fear a spillage of emotion
My life is like a "happy funeral" - a tragicomedy of sorts
Where laughter is followed by tears and tears by laughter
Till death do us part
My life is as long as this poem...
A series of inconsequential lines
Which fit on a single blank page
And come to an abrupt end.
Written on: 22.4.2008
April 14
Olaug Vethal - retrospective
It’s been just over a year since Norwegian-born artist Olaug Vethal passed away. Sadly I’ll have to admit that I hardly knew Olaug… yet when faced with the force of her paintings I feel that she is still very much alive - her artistic temperament and personality forever captured in each of her works.
On Wednesday the 27th of February, a retrospective exhibition in her honour was inaugurated in the Upper Galleries of St James Cavalier. The exhibition which entitled Grazzi Malta… showcases 40 memorable works of art which Vethal executed in various stages of her life.
Vethal’s paintings are both a tribute to Expressionism and to Fauvism; from the latter period, the works of Andre Derain and Auguste Macke are those which especially come to mind. Her paintings possess that same vibrancy and intensity as did the works of the fauves - those same colours that at once both blind and hypnotize you. Thus, her palette could not simply be described as extensive – because in actuality it was much more than that! It was wonderfully rich, made up of all the imaginable bright and incandescent colours available to her.
Olaug Vethal’s method may be described as a figurative action-painting. Even though I have never witnessed her while at work, her paintings clearly reveal and betray the immense physical energy with which she executed her work. They seem highly spontaneous and uncalculated, yet every brushstroke and each colour is applied on the surface with sheer confidence and exactitude as though she were just fulfilling the painting’s inevitable destiny. Besides the multitude of colours, Vethal was also accustomed to using a wide variety of mediums, such as ink, watercolours, pastels, oils and acrylics, among others. However, whichever medium she used and no matter what subject she chose to portray, her line and manner remain distinctly recognisable.
Abstraction was not a genre with which she seemed particularly preoccupied - in fact there are no such works on exhibit here, yet I have no doubt that she would have ventured towards and experimented with non-representational forms. Her ink drawings and her figure studies are highly abstracted in actual fact. Often, a few simple lines are all she used to denote a figure in movement, yet it is clearly all she needed to depict her subject. This is especially evident in both the paintings ‘Dancers’ and ‘Dancers II’. Her knowledge and confidence with abstraction is to be seen in the details of her works rather than in their entirety.
Most of her paintings possess an urgency of line, which almost makes it seem as though she were always in a hurry to finish one work in order to commence the next…perhaps she was afraid that she had not captured every possible movement, every desired action or all of the engaging ripples in the surrounding atmosphere. Whatever she was trying to bring out in her work, I think she more than successfully achieved. Her paintings of jazz players transport me into a world of music and memories; her paintings of divers, boats and bathers make me feel the seabreeze, taste the sea-spray and feel the warmth of the sun on my cheeks and shoulders…
I guess herein lies the magic of Vethal’s work – that her paintings are portals into her world, and through the use of bold colour and the fluidity of her brushstrokes - her obvious passion for life and art becomes infectiously contagious. We have much to be thankful for…she has truly given us a great gift!
Published in the Weekender (supplement to The Times of Malta, 22nd March 2008)
    
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