The artist’s melting point

Imaginary landscapes and nature are the main attribute of ‘Placeness’, Trevor Borg’s exhibition of paintings and drawings.

Since all exhibits share the same theme, most were left untitled. The titled exhibits include a few charcoal drawings and the distinctive mixed media Treeptych.

The works are in acrylics or mixed media, and charcoal and pencil.

The larger works are, for the most part, executed in acrylic paint, sometimes with a mixture of media that includes watercolour. The resultant effect is often eerie and atmospheric, but in spite of this, Borg skilfully manages to make his work amiable. Visiting the exhibition is an enjoyable experience.

Borg’s paintings present an imaginary and sometimes phantasmagorical world of landscapes, trees and nature.

What Borg does is paint the likeness of a landscape and then let the last layer of fresh, fluid paint on the surface of the support, to bleed and drip downwards.

The dripping paint is not haphazard but very much premeditated. The resultant effect is one of vagueness that can sometimes be exaggerated as happens, for example, in No. 31.

The canvases often consist of an otherwise smooth application of paint. Nonetheless, diversified textures also come into play. No. 12 for instance, provides an interesting visual appeal with a pleasant chromatic scheme and diversified surface textures.

No. 25 also has good tactile qualities. Paint can be lucid or dense, and with instances of light impasto.

The landscapes generally share similar characteristics, with lakes and trees, and a central or high horizon. No. 33 is diverse and somewhat exotic looking, probably because of the expressive application of brushstrokes.

The effect of Borg’s compositions would have been enhanced had they been executed in oils, where the build-up of glazes would have created a superior effect, and would have contributed to the general mood of the exhibition.

The section of charcoal on paper works presents landscapes that are as atmospheric as the larger works.

Another section displays a series of nine small-scale studies executed in mixed media on paper.

Standing on its own, and unique in its conception, is Treeptych. It is a triple panel resembling a triptych that harks back to the Christian altarpiece, not only because of its form, but also because of the use of gold in most of the background.

Borg’s ubiquitous trees do not fail to feature. Also visible are stretches of red and white paint, and several words inscribed onto the surface, mainly relating to time.

Trees have had a lot of symbolism attached to them in different times and cultures. Whatever Borg’s inspiration or intention, the trees he depicts are not a symbol of positivity, but rather, a reflection of the persistence of life in adverse circumstances.

They represent the survival of life in a harsh environment and unanticipated situations.

In the write-ups about this exhibition, Borg refers to “timelessness” as a feature of his work, but says that this is because “time of day or season is not his concern”. That is not the meaning of “timelessness”, or at least, its not how I understand it. I find this statement confusing and contradictory.

There is also mention of “an ‘open-endedness’, allowing the viewer to interpret and finish what the artist left incomplete”. Here again, I tend to disagree. I do not consider any of Borg’s works incomplete.

Despite the fact that the dripping paint was left free to adventure as it pleased, it had but one direction to go, and this spontaneous element was very much controlled. The resultant effect was the one desired. Therefore, I agree with the “false sense of spontaneity” Borg also mentions, but not with the “incomplete” part.

One other thing that baffled me is the proclaimed “exhibition/project”. What does it mean?

Many times, less is more, even when writing a description of oneself and one’s work. Your audience is not dense; there is no need to spell your state of mind out to them. It may be required in certain instances, such as in installations and abstract art.

This notwithstanding, ‘Placeness’ provides a strong body of works that promises well for the future development of the artist.

‘Placeness’ is open in the Lower Galleries, St James Cavalier,Valletta, until April 11.