Something old, something new

Alex Dalli’s last exhibition at Palazzo Castellania, Valletta, in September 2009, was remarkable for the minimalist approach applied to paintings.

If you are familiar with this notable exhibition, you are bound to find some of the exhibits at Art..e in Gozo familiar. This is no coincidence. Dalli consciously chose to show some of his ‘old’ works together with his new ones, perhaps to show continuity in his output, or perhaps, his progress.

There is continuity in the elongated panels and the sombre palette. There is, on the other hand, a change – a different Alex Dalli at play. A brighter palette features in Kuluri, a composition which reminded me of beach towels, and therefore of summer which is now rapidly approaching.

The smaller Żiffa exudes the same atmosphere of serenity and skilfully captures the movement of cloth fabric.

These two colourful works, in spite of the fact that the colours are not particularly bright, possess a joie de vivre that is not easy to discern in Dalli’s more sober works. The composition is more playful, with interlocking forms enlivening the scene.

Nonetheless, the Alex Dalli I have grown to admire and love is best represented in the ‘darker’ paintings, where the compositions are unadorned. The effect is not difficult to achieve, but their minimalist simplicity makes the works stand out for their incisive line.

Dalli’s compositions are distinct, and it is not only because they are different that they appeal to so many: it is the concept and the choice of palette, the chosen composition and the unconventionally shaped panels used as supports. In addition, in Dalli’s work, space is given an importance that complements thesubject matter.

In Razzett, for instance, the farm building is a play of cubes and of light and shade. Dalli is interested not in illustrating the several shades of colour gracing the Maltese limestone, but in focusing his attention on the more important aspects of the composition. In this case, playing around with shapes.

Tieqa similarly plays on the available shapes in architecture, in this case exploiting the visible horizon in the distance creating a pleasing contrast with the pale structure. Also similar to this end are the two elongated Citadella paintings, which both manage to capture the mysterious charm of this lone walled town.

Siegħa fil-Kwiet is similarly denuded to bare essentials. The main protagonists are the handsome architecture and the stark contrast of light and shade. A solitary seated figure reading beneath an arcade gives balance to the composition.

The previously exhibited paintings include Victoria Lines,Is-Sajjied, Il-Bastun ta’ Mosè and Taħt saqaf. Walk-ins during Lejlet Lapsi are in for a treat refreshingly different to the commotion that will be on elsewhere in Victoria.

The aura in Art..e Gallery will be one of stillness evoked by a meditated art that is simple only in form.

Dalli’s art is neither delicatenor pretty. His hard edge is not clean nor perfect, and yet, the end result is beautiful. This beauty comes from the elegance he finds in simplicity.

Alex Dalli’s exhibition is open at Art..e Gallery, Victoria until June 3.