Charlene Vella writes:
With the death of Neville Ferry, Malta has lost one of its leading artists and, arguably, its academically most prepared ceramist.
The artistic accomplishment and beauty of his ceramic works were never the result of accident, but the fruit of careful thought that reflected his sound academic formation.
Art should never be the outcome of pure chance, but the end of a long process of thought and reflection. This was very much the case of Ferry.
A conditioning influence to the art of Ferry was his passionate interest in Malta’s prehistoric cultural heritage. The megalithic temples, and especially prehistoric art, were for him a perennial source of inspiration.
Born in 1945, Ferry received his first artistic formation at the Malta Government School of Art where he studied painting and sculpture.
The school was, at the time he joined, Malta’s foremost art academy, and under the direction of such masters as Emvin Cremona and Vincent Apap, it enjoyed a repute that was the envy of school of arts abroad.
There is a crying need for revamping the Malta Government School of Art to its former glory. Perhaps, the University can play an important role in seeing this come about.
Ferry proceeded to Croydon School of Art in the UK, where he registered as a student in 1971. Subsequently, between 1972 and 1975, he studied at the Loughborough College of Art and Design, where he specialised in ceramics. In 1975, he was awarded a B.A. (Hons) degree in the First Class division in art and design.
That same year was a benchmark year in Ferry’s artistic journey. In addition to his Bachelor’s degree, he also received the licentiateship of the Society of Designers and Craftsmen. As important was his first one-man exhibition at Gallery 359 in Nottingham. This won him good criticism.
Ferry’s informed love for the prehistoric art of Malta manifested itself on his return. No critical appreciation of Ferry’s work can afford to overlook his archaeological bias.
His first Maltese one-man exhibition, ‘Icons of Worship’, held at the National Museum of Fine Arts in 1976, was a tribute to his fascination with and love for the prehistoric art of the islands.
More significant was his participation alongside Richard England and Gabriel Caruana in an exhibition in 1977 at the Edinburgh Gallery, Scotland, where his cardboard sculpture Ħaġar Qim received much praise.
After a brief teaching career, Ferry settled in England where he established himself as a teacher at a private school in Bedford.
He also researched for a postgraduate diploma in design technology.
Meanwhile, he continued exhibiting in Malta, both in one-man and collective exhibitions. Particularly memorable were the exhibitions at the National Museum of Fine Arts, the Mdina Cathedral Museum, and the Gallerija Fenici.
Ferry returned to Malta in August 2006 and continued to participate in various collective exhibitions, where he always stood out for the excellence of his technique and the aesthetic appeal of his works.
Among his works, the monumental sculpture in the garden of John XXIII Peace Laboratory at Ħal Far, stands out.
The last one-man exhibition in 2009 in Palazzo Castellania, Merchants Street, Valletta, which I had the privilege of reviewing for The Sunday Times, summed up his mastery of ceramics, and was a fitting final tribute to his artistic competence.
Malta is so much the poorer for his loss.