An array of 111 works are on show in Valletta in the 10th National Art Competition and Exhibition or-ganised by the Malta Society of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce.
Prizes were awarded for the best works when Joseph F.X. Zahra, chairman of Middlesea Insurance, inaugurated the exhibition in four halls of the piano nobile and the covered courtyard of Palazzo de La Salle at 219, Republic Street. It will remain open to the public up to October 22.
Ceramist Dolores Lungaro Mifsud won the prize for sculpture, presented by Mark Vella of Valletta Fund Management.
Entitled Anima Nuda, her work is an imaginative organic hollow ceramic form that simulates a fantastic marine creature. Ms Lungaro Mifsud has lately projected her art with consistent force and has attracted many admirers to her distinctive elaborate, delicate and elegant expression.
Honourable mentions in this category were awarded to Christian Fenech and Anthony Patrick Vella. The former’s Mother and Child, an elegant, delicate and poised convoluted form carved in mahogany, is almost monumental in its linearity as it rises dynamically into space, while the latter’s No Time No Space is more of an architectural prop in space, a kind of installation with a clock ticking the seconds with implicit interpretation of a time/space frame or continuum and an attempt at contemplating such reality without the arrogance to define it.
The first prize for painting went to Pamela Baldacchino for Metallica Rewind, a work on canvas of considerable boldness and impact. It was presented by Joanna Boldarini of VeeGeeBee. In July the artist distinguished herself with a related work entitled Metallica which she entered for the society members’ annual exhibition.
Honourable mentions in this category were given to Donnah Calleja for A Study in Blue, a depiction of foaming waves in gale force winds, and to Christopher Saliba for Domino Effect, a large monumental work illustrating the vicissitudes of man in a collage of newspaper cuttings recording tragic events.
The 78 participants competed in two sections. In the sculpture category 17 artists presented 27 works while 61 artists presented 84 paintings. This vast array of works does not merely project the popularity of this society but is also a representative spectrum.
A 100-page commemorative catalogue of the exhibition includes reproductions of all 111 works on show, a short historical outlook on the society, a report about the restoration that has made Palazzo de La Salle a modern centre for the arts and an index of the participating artists that serves as a directory and reference book. The catalogue is available from Palazzo de La Salle. A choice of sculptures decorate the recently restored courtyard covered with a sliding metal-glass roof.
The Society thanked its sponsors: Valletta Fund Management, Middlesea Insurance plc and VeeGeeBee of Valletta and San Ġwann for their continuous help and encouragement.