Argotti Gardens (2004)

Isabelle Borg (1959-2010) was one of Malta’s prominent artists. Her life was sadly cut short by her untimely death in 2010, with her 12th and last solo exhibition, Strange Cargo, being held in 2008. Borg was active largely from the mid-1980s until around 2008 when her illness prevented her from continuing her artistic endeavours. Although her artistic development was cut short, she was a prolific artist who experimented vastly with subject-matter and media.

An exhibition that ran in Valletta through summer is the first Isabelle Borg retrospective exhibition since her death. It adequately brought together a good sample of works by the artist that varied in theme and medium, and that were produced in Malta, Ireland and London. The exhibits consisted of several oil-on-canvas paintings, some executed with mixed media, ink and/or crayon works on paper, wood sculptures and etchings, as well as the use of objets trouvés. The genres were equally varied, with abstracts and figurative works, including the human figure, nudes, portraits, landscapes, and her revolutionary primitive series.

Borg was born in London to a Maltese father and an Italian mother, moving to Malta with her family when she was 14 years old. She then returned to London between 1979 and 1980 where she trained as a graphic designer at Decca Records. However, there was something in the hands-on experience that painting offered that technology did not satisfy. She therefore began to focus on the fine arts, and graduated from Camberwell School of Art in London in 1986 where she received a strong and rigorous academic training.

Borg held her first solo exhibition at the Museum of Archaeology in Valletta, simply titled Paintings, in 1985, while still a fine arts student in London. She emerged on the local art scene as a young, dynamic artist who revisited prehistoric art, works that she termed primitive. This is where her iconic Lovers in the Bull was first exhibited. This is the same period that produced the etching The Princess and the Dragon. Borg’s interest in the primitive started when she attended Camberwell School of Art, an interest which she nurtured when visiting Malta’s prehistoric sites.

Clouds Overhanging Maltese Landscape (1997)

She later settled in Floriana, and in 1994 she became a full-time assistant lecturer in fine art and history of art at the Junior College and University of Malta. Her interest in the history of art and archaeology stemmed from her visits to several museums when she was a child. Her stays with family in Florence exposed her to Renaissance art.

Borg was passionate about several things, foremost among them were her art and her strong feminist contentions. She was instrumental in creating the Moviment Mara Maltija, of which she became president in November 1992. It was back at Camberwell in the 1980s that she realised the need for women to stand up for themselves, since this is where she noticed that her female tutors did not abide by feminine expectations.

The truth is that her feminist concerns can be largely felt throughout her oeuvre. Borg also dealt with this feminist aspect in her several self-portraits. She did so in order to leave her mark as a female painter active in Malta, knowing well the significance of female self-portraits in the history of art, and that female artists in Malta still needed to find their ground. In Artists, happily sharing a suitcase, forever argue over the label, we see a self-assured Borg featuring alongside her long-term partner, Irish photographer Graham Cooper.

Red Hot Sun Diptych (2001)

Borg was first and foremost an artist who had a free spirit that allowed her to delve into a number of genres without any fear of retribution. Whatever the subject matter, form and colour take centre stage. Colour that is broadly executed with vigorous brushstrokes, is, however, often seen to override form. Her art is open for viewers’ interpretations, but ultimately all of her works are a mirror of her character and of her colourful life. Therefore, through this exhibition, one could see how the artist’s oeuvre unfurled over the years.

The 25 artworks that were chosen to be on display adequately showcased Borg’s artistic capabilities, highlighting the importance of her broad palette that is applied with energetic brushstrokes.

The exhibition also showcased a variety of genres, all of which were carefully selected and displayed. In fact, the artworks had been divided into four sections, namely abstract; figurative including portraits; landscapes; and the primitive. It was accompanied by a catalogue.

The Isabelle Borg Retrospective ran at the Pop Up Gallery in Old Treasury Street, Valletta.