Farmhouse Walls, 1972

The BOV Retrospective Art Exhibition series has now reached its 24th edition. This year, the exhibition brought to the fore the life and work of Mary de Piro (b. 1946), who now divides her time between London and Malta.

Although profoundly Maltese, de Piro is well-travelled and has lived in the UK for much of her married life. She received her artistic training at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Florence and the School of Art in Valletta, and has exhibited her work in London, Scotland, Italy and the US.

The BOV exhibition centred around 55 works executed in a variety of media, ranging from acrylics to watercolour, tempera, charcoal, as well as experiments in Chinese watercolours. The subject matter was also diversified, showcasing works with a sacred theme, portraits, some ballerina poses, still lifes and landscapes.

De Piro has been active as an artist since the late 1960s and held her first solo exhibition in Malta in 1967, when she was just 21. The 1960s were an exciting time for the development of Modern Art in Malta, and the young de Piro benefitted especially from her friendship with Richard England who became a supporter and promoter of her work. England’s own aesthetic did leave an impact on de Piro’s output, but there are also unique elements in her work to be discovered.

Another great supporter of Mary de Piro is the artist’s brother Nicholas who was instrumental for the Din l-Art Ħelwa commission of the late 1960s which is a benchmark work in the artist’s oeuvre. This painting was commissioned for the new Howard Minter estate agency office that had opened at Casa Rocca Piccola in Valletta. It is a colossal work of a sweeping vista of Maltese fields and hills that embodies the young artist’s thirst for displaying her artistic talent and skill.

Her minimalism is, no doubt, a reaction to Victor Pasmore’s presence on the Maltese islands and the impact he left on artists such as Richard England

This was an artist who wanted to produce something that would impress. And impress it did. It is this kind of patronage that a young artist needs to launch an artistic career.

Being a retrospective show, this exhibition aptly showed the artist’s development over the last five decades. It is, therefore, understandable, that it was a difficult task to choose the exhibited works that give prominence to de Piro’s landscape pieces that deserve more space to be thoroughly enjoyed. Nonetheless, the emphasis on landscapes really reveals this genre as being de Piro’s forte.

City on a Hill

What one gauges from de Piro’s landscapes is that the style she employs in this genre is particular to the artist in a local context, and differs from the style employed for other genres. This is probably the reason why the exhibition was divided as such, with the majority of the featured landscape paintings being grouped together along one wall.

Viewing so many landscapes by the artist in succession, it emerged clear that de Piro has a penchant for a monochromatic palette and for working with neutral tones. What was also noticeable is de Piro’s draughtsmanship that is discernible for instance in the Maltese Townscape watercolour that is enhanced with a linear drawing and the 1972 drawing of Gozo. The 1972 Farmhouse Walls is a memorable work in this regard that is infused with a brighter palette. City on a Hill Matthew Ch 5c 14-16 reveals the same finesse, but with a more sweeping panorama.

What emerged clearly is that the same forms resonate through-out de Piro’s oeuvre, such as the undulating hills and fields that were a hallmark of Din L-Art Ħelwa, but which have been revisited with a more mature and experienced eye.

That the exhibition display was not chronological, but according to genre, helped such characteristics to emerge more clearly. What also became noticeable is that the early years – especially those showing works produced in the 1970s, such as the 1977 Townscape – were the artist’s golden years.

To sum up Mary de Piro’s landscapes one can say that they are minimalist, simple and uncomplicated. Her minimalism is, no doubt, a reaction to Victor Pasmore’s presence on the Maltese islands and the impact he left on artists such as Richard England.

Notte Bianca

The landscapes that are largely produced in acrylics are often infused with a translucency that is associated with watercolours. This bestows the works with a spiritual aura. Sacred art has, in fact, occupied a lot of the artist’s time.

The sacred works in this exhibition were hanging on the opposite wall to the landscapes alongside other genres of painting bar one landscape, The Balconies, that may have been an afterthought.

De Piro’s religious works often depict outrightly sacred themes but, at other instances, they are less obvious in subject matter, such as the selected title piece of the exhibition, the 1991 Road to Emmaus, which is, in fact, displayed alongside the landscape works.

Among the sacred art works, Prayer should be mentioned for its solemnity. It hangs alongside its bozzetto which is remarkable for its freshness.

Mary de Piro should be remembered as an important artist of her generation also because she was one of the first female artists to penetrate the art exhibitions of the past quarter of the 20th century that were otherwise almost always male dominated

Mary de Piro should be remembered as an important artist of her generation also because she was one of the first female artists to penetrate the art exhibitions of the last quarter of the 20th century that were otherwise almost always male dominated. This highlights the importance of showcasing the work of female artists. In fact, this exhibition unsurprisingly happens to be the second in succession by BOV to be dedicated to a female artist, which really serves to show that the organisers have listened to past criticism in a positive manner.

Townscapes

The exhibition, that was curated by Theresa Vella and accompanied by a full catalogue that includes the artist’s biography, is another feather in BOV’s cap.

It is, therefore, a shame that a good number of the dates printed on the captions were not faithful to those that appeared alongside the artist’s signature on the paintings. The captions are also devoid of the paintings’ dimensions which is a very basic attribute of any art exhibition.