Lija villa becomes art gallery

Villa Gourgion in Lija opened yesterday as an art gallery showing the best in Maltese contemporary art.

Going by the name of Gallery G, it is run by Karmen and Philip Grima, who have worked hard to restore the 17th century building, with its traditional Maltese villa architecture for the display of canvases.

The first exhibition is by artist Anna Grima, whose most recent solo exhibition was at St James Cavalier in 2002.

Ms Grima, who was born in 1958, studied fine art at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Perugia when in her 20s, and then spent four years sailing in the Indian and Pacific oceans, during which period she learned the ancient Japanese art form of Gyotaku.

Her first solo exhibition was at the Galerie Ripard in Fontainebleu, in 1984.

Gallery G, in Sir Ugo Mifsud Street, Lija open Mondays to Fridays between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.

grimand@medzone.com.mt