A positive feast of colours

John Grima is a chameleon. After watching Alice In Wonderland twice over the weekend, I can’t really help attributing animalistic qualities to this man. The only striking contrast between the man and the reptile, perhaps, lies in their speed... for Mr Grima is always in a hurry.

Actually, coming to think of it, he even talks in a hurry (and even Ambassador to Malta in Germany John Paul Grech described him as a “Prodigy in a hurry”), and for a man, he certainly seems to have mastered the art of multi-tasking. Until a few days ago, I hadn’t really come across a member of the opposite sex who could carry out more than a single job at any given time. And yet, Mr Grima was witnessed, by yours truly, in the act of liaising with potential buyers, gauging appropriate hanging heights and distances, and answering a phone call, all at one and the same time.

But this is just one aspect to the man whose life largely revolves around art. Because Mr Grima really is an artist through and through and his hurried demeanour, I suspect, might be his nervous nature becoming manifest as a result of his attempt to contain an overflowing need to create.

A meeting with the artist on the sister island (where he lives and works) a couple of weeks ago, quickly turned into a cultural tour of select spots in Victoria and its surroundings. Our first port of call was the Oratory of Don Bosco. I had never before set foot in this magically spiritual place which has practically all been designed by the man himself. I learnt that this all-encompassing project took flight in 2001, when Mr Grima was commissioned a painting depicting the Resurrection for the chapel. This spurred the entire redesigning of the same chapel – which took almost two years to complete – from its asymmetrical façade, to the lectern and benches, to the light fittings, altar or tabernacle. This results in homogeneity of style which is so rarely witnessed in any one space.

The next stop was Mr Grima’s art gallery, which I am pretty sure that only a few people are aware of or have even visited. To be very fair, however, the word gallery should be placed in inverted commas because so far, Mr Grima has not opened this space to the public, even though the late Dennis Vella seems to have pined for him to get it up and running. In fact, in this space we did a lot of reminiscing about id-Dennis tagħna, who really seems to be very much alive in so many people’s thoughts and whose presence is still incredibly felt in so many places.

This gallery, on three floors, doubles up as a studio and here Mr Grima creates some of his larger paintings thanks to the large expanses of wall which he uses as an easel. He uses the ground floor to create the casts for some of his commissions for sculptural works and monuments. But the true visual experience lies on the first floor, which is a positive feast of colour. Malta’s climate and colours transpire and pour out of his works. This is reflected in his monolithic bands of light and shade which somehow appear weightless on his surfaces, yet which nevertheless distribute a definite mass throughout his compositions. These signature bands of light sashay in and out of the picture plane, almost possessing a mind of their own.

A mind of their own, or a world of his own? I’m not entirely sure. Viewers can easily lose themselves in these intricately woven webs of shapes and forms. It seems to me that he has zoomed into, and captured a world which is only possible to experience through a microscope. A world in which blades of grass and dewdrops replace buildings, parks or seas.

The last stop of the day was a visit to his home and sanctuary, which I quickly learn was also built to his design. The space is quite impressive, with open spaces, split levels and arched peepholes being the order of the day. There are paintings and sculptures absolutely everywhere and it is easy to see where Mr Grima’s work is stemming from and where his early inspirations lie. His house, however, is not a mere extension of his gallery. The underground basement is another space where creative juices flow. And I can see that this is the real artist’s cove – with paint spluttered on walls, floors and other surfaces. Works in the making, sketches and preparatory works, assorted tubes, brushes and utensils... the kind of place which you cannot absorb all at one go... for it is too rich with the stories it has not told.

So what is the purpose of this journey into John Grima’s world? All it takes is an exhibition. But one which has been in the making, or at least in the planning, for some eight years. The exhibition, titled A Language Within, will be inaugurated tomorrow at the Auberge d’Italie in Valletta, and it features some of the largest paintings he has created in a while. The exhibition is just a single aspect of the chameleon that is Mr Grima. An artist who not only wears his heart on his sleeve but hangs it up on princely walls for all to see and read.

www.johngrima.com