Gilbert Calleja’s elusive, yet enticing, brushwork has left another good impression on the contemporary art scene. This is visible in an intimate collection of Calleja’s small-to-medium-sized easel paintings that have been executed in mixed media, including cement. The paintings are devoid of much colour, but there is just enough to convey Calleja’s mood and concept.

The paintings aptly conjure the idea of urban spaces, sometimes industrial, inspired by Malta, London, Venice and beyond, in which a conundrum of strokes create a comprehensible whole.

The truth is that (thankfully) this series does not invite you to see pretty paintings with the Venetian gondola and palazzi, or London bridges – although you can make them out in some of the works – but tall buildings, scaffolds and the like, that encircle the composition. Machinery also plays a major role, taking blue skies and other unnecessary details over in importance.

This may not sound like it could make up a charming series of paintings. The works are, nonetheless, very attractive with some of them leaning towards the abstract, but with the original idea being firmly ingrained in an urban space.

As the exhibition title, Continuum, suggests, there is a continuous sequence visible in the works. The chosen dark palette, too, remains constant as does the atmosphere, which, albeit sullen, renders the subjects beautiful. The very permanent objects of inspiration have been rendered lightweight and at times float and oscillate in oblique compositions, often creating grid-like patterns.

The atmosphere, albeit sullen, renders the subjects beautiful

The theme continues with The Wreck, in which the palette slightly varies to include touches of lighter, earthy hues.

Thanks to the variety of media at play, there is so much textural depth to these paintings that gives them an added visual interest. I am a great fan of such expressive brushwork and it takes skill to execute these compositions, even on this small scale.

While most would not consider this collection to be their cup of tea, the works deserve appreciation. The paintings are far from simple-minded works; they are eloquent and have several layers of meaning.

I believe that art is about learning how to look, training your eye and about making an informed opinion. And it’s fine to change your mind about your thoughts on a work of art. As with most things, in art, knowledge is power.

Calleja has devoted himself to art which he pursues as a teacher of art and as a painter and photographer. What he has managed to achieve in this exhibition is a concept that can be considered bleak, but which he has animated to his full capabilities.