Entries (RSS)| I got to know Clinton Carter few months ago during a life class session at Alfred Briffa’s studio. When I encountered his sketches I soon noticed his interest towards human anatomy. His appreciation and love to anatomy is not only reflected in his drawings and paintings, infact, most of his daily activities are closely related with the Gym. |  |
| Clinton is a sociable person and you can easily start a conversation with him. When I asked Clinton to visit his studio he was so pleased and made me so much welcome. His studio is a small room at his parent’s house. Although Clinton desires to have more space where he can work freely, he is very economical in terms of space and time. As regards time, Clinton utilises every single minute of the day. His daily activities are constant and consistent; cardio training, teaching, painting, gym, spending time with his family members as well with his better half. | |
| Clinton showed me a collection of sketches, drawings and paintings in various media representing the human body. He believes that the human figure provides artists with a vast range of opportunities and contexts through which one can express his innnerself, send messages, deal with forms and countless occasions to link the interplay between the flesh, and what lived underneath the skin. Having the opportunity to meet and observe people with various body types enabled Clinton to appreciate the characteristics of; skinny, robust, underweight, well-built, chubby and overweight individuals. This is clearly illustrated in his works as they represent males, females, old, young, thin, fat and more, performing daily tasks such as resting, moving, and eating. Therefore, he is not interested in studying a particular body-type or sex, infact the greater the range of people, the more he experiments. Lately he is experimenting with faces of babies. He uses a variety of media such as pencil, chalk and charcoal, pastel, oils and inks. | |
Archive for October, 2007
24
10
2007
Arthur Dutton – fantasy and creativeness are the most powerful characteristics in a human being
Posted by: Emmanuel Caruana in Arthur Dutton| Few months ago a magazine came to my hands. In this magazine there was an article about a Maltese artist Arthur Dutton. I read the article and looked closely at the samples of his work. I saw another place, a place which I have never been before. By looking at his art I felt peace, serenity, tranquility and no negative feelings. | |
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I felt that I should meet the artist to see more of his work. Arthur invited me to his house. This is where all his work is displayed. All the walls are decorated with his art. Arthur gave me a glass of red wine; wine for the artists as described by him. |
| Arthur started describing his art and the philosophy behind it. I could not stop looking at the perfection and the details in every piece of art. The medium used is coloured pencil, ink and the latest work watercolour. | |
| Arthur Dutton was born 1956 in Floriana , Malta . He is known to the Maltese public mostly though his own personal exhibitions, one organised in 1989 “Over the Edge”, another in 1993 “The Journey” and in 1998 ‘The Great Play’ . | |
| Although from a young age the artist always enjoyed drawing, he started taking art seriously during a four year course at the Technical institute. Technical design and drawing had a major influence in his work. During his course he met with his art teacher who is a well known Maltese artist Joseph Mallia. The artist recalls when his tutor gave the class a project to create something artistic out of some shapes. Arthur did his so well that Mr. Mallia saw the potential in Arthur. Arthur took art seriously and he learned so much from Mr. Mallia especially where it comes to the balance of colours. | |
| Arthur loves nature and in his art he tries to analyze creation. The artist feels that art is the means that brings him close to God. In fact Arthur does not copy direct from nature as he feels that by doing so; he will be copying another great artist. Hence in Arthur’s work there is a sense of adventure, freedom to explore, creativeness, harmony, precision and balance. Hence he uses a soft pallet which is consistent through all his masterpieces. | |
| Arthur Dutton – The Great Play | |
23
10
2007
CS Lawrence – MOSAIC exhibition
Posted by: Emmanuel Caruana in 43 years anniversary of the Independence |
The current collection of art by C.S.Lawrence at Gallery G in Lija speaks volumes about what this artist is capable of. Her skill in figurative and portrait depiction is unquestionable, but it is what the artist seeks to convey in the narrative of her compositions that demands attention. Satirical observation of the human condition lies at the core of her facial depictions. Overtly serene, they conceal an undercurrent of rage manifested marginally in the dominant use of reds. Included in this exhibition are some of Lawrence’s exotic and beautiful Faces of Africa. However, the pictorial flagship of this collection is her new series of striking portrait collages. Using a variety of different textured paper as well as scraps of things she would normally throw away, the intriguing faces take on a vivid three-dimensional quality. Lawrence draws satisfaction in the fact that she is incorporating some of her personal day-to-day detritus within her art, giving it an even deeper stamp of personalization. |
22
10
2007
Giuseppe Schembri Bonaci -A white chapel for a white dance
Posted by: Emmanuel Caruana in 43 years anniversary of the Independence, Blogroll |
Giuseppe Schembri Bonaci is exhibiting a number of paintings at the National museum of tine arts in Valletta between 2nd November and 2nd December. The title of this exhibition is “A white chapel for a white dance.” The theme is the dance and the tension is the whiteness against whiteness. Furthermore one feels the development process towards white with all the conflicting possibilities giving birth to the white. This is manifested by the goyesque dance theme. The following are some of the the paintings which will be exhibited.. |
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| Anthony Catania has exhibited a number of paintings entitled ‘The Cave of Centaurs’ in the ‘Contemporary Hall’ at the National Museum of Fine Arts in Valletta, Malta between the 5th and the 26th of October, 2007. |  |
| Anthony Catania was born in Valletta in October, 1969. He was brought up in Birkirkara. The artist recalls that from a very young age he used to enjoy drawing so much that his mother, in order to keep him quiet, used to give him paper and pencil to sketch. He attended Stella Maris College where he studied art under Frank O’Neil. He furthered his drawing and painting techniques under Maestro Pawlu Grech and history of art under E.V.Borg. Anthony is also indebted to Dr Saviour Catania for sharing his profound knowledge and love of art. There are other friends whose very fine artistic tastes helped Anthony develop his own, such as Josmar Azzopardi, Noel Borg, Vince Borg, Sina Farrugia and Dr Guzeppi Schembri Bonaci. He is grateful for the support offered by benefactors and sponsors. |  |
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Anton Abela is an enigmatic person and one could see this conveyed through his art. For Anton, art is a continuation of what he has in his mind. The artist gets his inspiration from nature, design and different cultures such as Islam, Chinese, Oriental Indian and African. This culture influence is clearly demonstrated in most of his paintings in the “Inverse Reality” exhibition. |
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Mark Schembri is exhibiting a number of artwork in acrylic and mixed media at the Nuvo art and dine restaurant. The exhibition is titled “Identity”. |
| All of the exhibited paintings describe the Maltese culture which gives us the identity. In the paintings subjects varies from Maltese streets, Maltese farmer, Maltese events, the church and others. Every painting has a story and a message that Mark would like to pass to the viewers. | |
| The exhibition will remain open until the 25th November. The public could visit the gallery over a dinner in a relaxing atmosphere while looking at these paintings. | |
| One could contact Nuvo art and dine for reservation by visiting their official website at www.nuvomalta.com | |
| Art in Malta will publish a feature on Mark Schembri. |
16
10
2007
Collective exhibition – Pastel Society Malta
Posted by: Emmanuel Caruana in 43 years anniversary of the Independence| The Pastel Society of Malta was set up a year ago by a group of local pastel artists. The Director of the Society is Joe Spiteri Staines, the Secretary is Martin Formosa, and the Treasurer is Joanne Fenech Portelli. For the past year, the members of the society have been meeting up and painting in their favourite medium: soft pastel. |
| Technically, pastel is powdered pigment, rolled into round or square sticks and held together with methyicellulose, a non-greasy binder. It can either be blended with finger and stump, or left with visible strokes and lines. Generally, the ground is toned paper, but sanded boards and canvas are also popular. If the ground is covered completely with pastel, the work is considered a Pastel Painting; a Pastel Sketch shows much of the ground. When protected by fixative and glass, pastel is the most permanent of all media, for it never cracks, darkens or yellows. |
11
10
2007
Antonio Mifsud – “But when you start working under my supervision you will learn how to feel art.” Alfred Camilleri Cauchi
Posted by: Emmanuel Caruana in Antonio Mifsud |
In a town house in the heart of a small village called Imqabba, I met a young talented artist Antonio Mifsud. I was invited by the artist to visit his studio which is a well organised room at the back of his house. The studio is packed with work; some of which in development and some of which in an almost completed stage. This is the space in which Antonio spends most of his time seeking tranquility in his masterpiece. | |||
| Antonio Mifsud is a young artist who has been under the tutelage of the well known local sculptor Chev Alfred Camilleri Cauchi. During the past years Antonio was involved in the artistic scene mainly in sculpture and painting. His work includes public commissions such as the bust of local poet Sammy Calleja at the Markiz Malia Tabone in Mosta and the via Cruces for the Holy week at St. Philip’s Band club in Zebbug Malta . His work varies from figurative, sacred and monumental art. Some of his work is a combination of sculpture and painting. Antonio combines these in a way to create interesting bas-reliefs which are a combination of colours, texture and figurative. | ||||
| Antonio is a down to earth person and when you get to know Antonio, one could notice the spontaneousness inside him. The spontaneous is clearly marked in every sculpture that he artistically creates. His sculptures are a contrast of tranquility on the figures’ faces against confusion and undercurrents in the backgrounds. While the subject and themes are very well described, one could notice an unrefined style which creates a texture in which the artist feels his comfort. | ||||
08
10
2007
2007 Notte Bianca – A festival of art and culture in Malta
Posted by: Emmanuel Caruana in 43 years anniversary of the Independence |
On the night between the 6th and 7th October, the capital city of Malta, Valletta was packed with thousands of Maltese and Gozitans visiting cultural places. |
| This year’s event gave more space to street theatre with 64 spaces forming the backdrop to 88 activities involving no less than 430 artists and 90 entities. | |
| The public had an opportunity to visit several art and cultural places such as The Maltese school of Arts, Palazzo De La Sale (Malta Society of Arts), Auberge D’Italie, Ministry of Health, St. James, Il- Botteggin ta’ San Martin, Vee Gee Bee art Gallery and others. | |