Realism runs through the veins of two Maltese artists
One year has passed since the first joint exhibition of Francesca Attard and Mark Muscat, entitled The Path to Realism in which they successfully explored the genre of hyperrealism.
In their current show Through the Wine of the Artists, they follow similar themes as their previous show. Muscat’s photorealistic observation and the artistic shaping of architecture and statuary are complemented by Attard’s deeply sensitive interpretations of religious imagery. However, Attard’s capabilities are not limited to this genre.
The title chosen is indicative of flow, the veins being an integral part of the circulatory system. These vessels, with the sole exception of the pulmonary vein, carry deoxygenated blood to the heart so that it can be pumped forward to the lungs and can be oxygenated again and redistributed by the arteries to the rest of the body.
This analogy can be advanced to the way both artists relate to stimuli; a photorealistic ‘heart’ beats within their chests, conveying the ‘blood’ that oxygenated their creative processes.
Mark Muscat, architecture and statuary
In contrast to last year’s exhibition, Muscat introduced a full chromatic palette in his delivery of Giuseppe Calì’s Epiphany lunette at the Mosta basilica. It includes the architecture in which this work of one of the giants of Maltese art; Muscat therefore establishes his art as an original piece on his own art and not a masterful copy of Cali.
It gives an architectural context to a well-known painting, one of a series of eight that narrate important episodes in the life of Jesus Christ, as foretold by the prophets of the Old Testament.
In his other work in this exhibition, Muscat returns to his traditional choice of two palettes, one in which shades of gray predominate and the other glowing in golden ocher. The horizon of Mdina, with the dominant 16th-century cathedral, shines against the night sky and information obtained in black.
The artist divides the composition into three parts, hyperrealism suspends architecture in dreams, giving it another radiance of the world and magnificent.
This may also be one of the so-called novelist Italo Calvino Invisible Cities just as Mdina, deeply rooted in its rich and golden history, can still bring out new narratives and itineraries for most of us dreamers.
Last year, Muscat began a series of paintings thematically related to the 10 angels on them. Weather in Ponte Sant’Angelo, the bridge leading to Castel Sant’Anġlu and to the Vatican City. He is ready and is exhibiting five of them, represented in shades of gray.
The chiaroscuro adds more drama as the sculptural elements of each angel’s dress, pieces of hair and individual feathers on the wings stand out in high relief. The black background seems to project each angel forward, and the bright light of the incident, as if coming from a sun defying a very cloudy sky, helps to increase the volume for each of these creatures. sema.
A recurring theme in Muscat’s opera is his portraits of the bell towers of various Maltese churches. They are studies of incredible detail as the artist keeps on exploring the elements and idiosyncrasies of architecture that can easily be lost through a ground-level perspective.
Through these paintings, we take part in the silence and heavy silence of the standing bells. Muscat catches a mood of intense loneliness. This ‘vein’ passes through the work in this series, expressed either monochromatically or through the way of his ocher signature.
The title chosen is indicative of flow, the veins being an integral part of the circulatory system
Francesca Attard, religious imagery and beyond
Attard’s very young age evokes a remarkable sensitivity in the painting of human emotion. In the last exhibition, she depicts Mother Teresa and Padre Pio (as well as herself through a self-portrait) in an exceptional psychological study that celebrated the humility of these characters.
It did this through their facial expressions, delving deep into the soul of the subject and bringing out their life story and what they represented.
In this exhibition, Attard researched and reinterpreted religious iconography, giving it a serene beauty with a more human and temporal dimension.
Only the ephemeral haloes elevate them to holiness; they can also be representations of normal everyday human beings expressing vulnerability and pain, appealing to heaven for their batch delivery.
The artist manages to evoke a sense of spirituality by giving normal human beings attributes of another world.
We grew up with them feel – representations of saints and biblical episodes – through our Roman Catholic upbringing. At times, these devotional artifacts featured representations of sacred art masterpieces along with prayers, aimed at reviving or reinforcing our religious beliefs.
In other cases, kitsch and stereotypical imagery and prayers proclaimed the power of the saint or deity.
Attard’s view of religious imagery goes beyond what is intensely normal and human. Holiness is not limited to ascetics and those who have lived a dedicated and martyred life for delivering God’s message.
The woman next door who has been abandoned to live an unworthy life, the young girl bullied and suffering in silence, the sick and forgotten old man are also saints of strength and courage, who carry the weight of their cross. without complaining.
In the same vein as her colleague and similarly adopting a monochrome palette, Attard also delves into the beauty of Maltese vernacular architecture and brings out the intricacies of detail in the architectural fabric of our country.
This exhibition also shows another side of the young artist’s dexterity through the full chromatic representations of the animals. This thematic and chromatic dichotomy is interesting, which perhaps suggests the creature-filled nature of beauty so grand that it transcends the monochromatic softness of the human condition and its undertakings.
The French poet and thinker Jean Cocteau claimed that “true realism consists in revealing the surprising things that addiction keeps hidden and prevents us from seeing”. Through the Wine of the Artists finds two artists reaffirming themselves as leading protagonists in the artistic realism of our country. As Cocteau states, we are being invited to engage more deeply with the world around us, one that we often overlook.
Through the veins of the Artists, hosted by Casino Notabile, Saqqajja Hill, Victoria, will run until 31 December. Log in to the event’s Facebook page for opening hours. COVID-19 restrictions apply.
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