I refer to Charlene Vella’s write-up, ‘A bad day at the NMFA?’ (The Sunday Times, April 22).
Heritage Malta fails to understand whether this review concerns the National Museum of Fine Arts proper or two exhibitions currently on at this venue. For clarity’s sake and in order not to confuse readers I will limit my reaction to the exhibition ‘Aligi Sassu – Memories on paper’, which seems to be the main focus of Ms Vella’s contribution.
It has been the Sassu family’s express wish to introduce Sassu (1912-2000) in Malta with 20 unpublished and never before exhibited works from the family’s personal collection. The exhibition is curated by Natalia Sassu Suarez, a relative of the artist who is a graduate of Ca Foscari University, Venice, and is currently studing for a PhD at the University of St Andrew’s, Scotland. Heritage Malta took great care to have the apposite academic expertise in place and the foundation had the means to provide the necessary high-level of curatorship. The exhibition was also granted the distinguished patronage of the Italian Embassy in Malta thanks to Ambassador Efigio Luigi Marras, who also kindly agreed to inaugurate the exhibition.
To celebrate the centenary of Sassu’s birth, a synthesis of his most important series was exhibited, of which Ms Vella only mentions two.
The works cover a period of about 60 years, from the mid-1930s to the mid-1990s, ranging from futurism to primitivism to realism.
The exhibition emphasises the importance of drawing in Sassu’s art as most of his works started as a series of drawings that were then developed into paintings, sculptures, ceramics and mosaics.
The Caffès on display are a reflection of his stay in Paris in the 1930s, where he studied the French masters of the 19th century and he was impressed by the lights and the social life he experienced in that city.
The exhibition proceeds with other significant series like the famous horses, the battles, the mythological scenes and the Spanish period, represented here by a bullfight. In fact, Sassu lived between Milan and Mallorca from the 1960s and felt the Spanish island as a newly found Sardinia.
As ever, Heritage Malta would be more than happy to provide all the necessary information to anyone through our curators on site. Any feedback to improve on our exhibitions programme is always welcome.