Northern light
This month, the Upper Galleries at St James host an exhibition by the late Norwegian artist Olaug Vethal.
In February of last year we mourned the death of an outstanding and prolific artist who gave so much to our shores through her art. Her name was Olaug Vethal (1946-2007) and she was of Norwegian nationality. She first visited our islands in 1988 and knew that this was where she belonged. She fell for the landscapes with beautiful heritage sites, the warmth of the Maltese villagers, the climate and much more.
She studied art at the College of Design of the University of Hamburg and later taught the subject to students of all ages.
On her arrival in Malta she painted practically every corner of the island: temples, bathers, dancers, villagers, villages and seascapes. As a personality she was very active and very athletic. Through her art we can see this. She was also very prolific and experimental in her art. Malta's bright light had a strong impact to her works, her warm and loud reds, yellows, black and greens turned to softer pinks, yellows and blues. Until there was no sign of any black, except for the strong expressionistic series of paintings following Caravaggio's themes. She also taught art privately during this time, and in 1996 she began teaching A Level Art at De La Salle Sixth Form. This she continued to do until her final year 2007.
When one looks at her art, one sees great expression of all that she saw around her. But it was also full of colour, passion and joy, as if she had been listening to jazz - which she probably had, since it was another of her great passions. She would never miss the jazz festivals held every year in Malta. In fact she would bring her paints and canvasses to them and paint away while the musicians played.
It was during her last years that she took on a different role with her art and this was when she started introducing the metaphysical into her works, and preferred to be called a metaphysical artist.
Grazzi Malta: An exhibition of works by Ms Vethal, painted during her years in Malta 1988-2007, will be held at the St James Centre of Creativity between February 26 and March 30. It is being sponsored by the Malta Tourism Authority, Marsovin Wines, Poulton's Print Shop, the National Lotteries Good Causes Fund, Citadel Insurance and the Strickland Foundation.
For more information please call Artitude Gallery on 2131 6708.
She studied art at the College of Design of the University of Hamburg and later taught the subject to students of all ages.
On her arrival in Malta she painted practically every corner of the island: temples, bathers, dancers, villagers, villages and seascapes. As a personality she was very active and very athletic. Through her art we can see this. She was also very prolific and experimental in her art. Malta's bright light had a strong impact to her works, her warm and loud reds, yellows, black and greens turned to softer pinks, yellows and blues. Until there was no sign of any black, except for the strong expressionistic series of paintings following Caravaggio's themes. She also taught art privately during this time, and in 1996 she began teaching A Level Art at De La Salle Sixth Form. This she continued to do until her final year 2007.
When one looks at her art, one sees great expression of all that she saw around her. But it was also full of colour, passion and joy, as if she had been listening to jazz - which she probably had, since it was another of her great passions. She would never miss the jazz festivals held every year in Malta. In fact she would bring her paints and canvasses to them and paint away while the musicians played.
It was during her last years that she took on a different role with her art and this was when she started introducing the metaphysical into her works, and preferred to be called a metaphysical artist.
Grazzi Malta: An exhibition of works by Ms Vethal, painted during her years in Malta 1988-2007, will be held at the St James Centre of Creativity between February 26 and March 30. It is being sponsored by the Malta Tourism Authority, Marsovin Wines, Poulton's Print Shop, the National Lotteries Good Causes Fund, Citadel Insurance and the Strickland Foundation.
For more information please call Artitude Gallery on 2131 6708.