Anthony Catania is making a name for himself for intellectually-stimulating solo exhibitions. This is not a quality that is often found in Maltese exhibitions.
Movement is what characterises much of Catania’s exhibits- Charlene Vella
His work gives the intellect more than just a little tickle. It throws you into a world where death is omnipresent. You cannot but be affected by it.
There are several layers of meaning in Catania’s work. The works provoke thought and reflection, and it is often not easy to come to meaningful terms with them. The world it engenders is mysterious and unknown, and you leave the exhibition with an eerie feeling. Significantly, Catania chose to call this exhibition ‘Last Light’.
The Death of Actaeon I is an immediately memorable image. This is more so because it is among the first to be encountered when you venture into the exhibition space.
Inspired by the four horses of the Apocalypse, it is an image of forceful movement of a skeleton riding a skeleton horse.
The execution is beautiful, and this helps you become enraptured in the theme. Worked out in gold and black, the acrylic and Indian ink on canvas composition is a fine paradigm ofCatania’s work.
My interest in this exhibitwas further heightened becauseI have only just visited thesplendid gardens of the Royal Palace in Caserta, with its technically and artistically superb fountains where movement is an essential ingredient to the visual impact.
The theme and artistic language are obviously different to Catania’s, but I could not escape a feeling of similarity in the fascination with movement.
Movement is indeed what characterises much of Catania’s exhibits.
Most of the exhibition consists of works executed in white pastel on black paper. They are grouped according to themes such as the Mourning Light series, the Dying Death series, and the cycle of 10 works forming one collective exhibit entitled Shades of Stars.
In the Dying Death series there is a ubiquitous skeleton in a rapid descent often shrouded in a tormented atmosphere that includes a large skeletal form.
This atmosphere is further accentuated by the agitated line employed in the execution of the pastels.
Catania seems to often find the desire to fill the entire picture plane, almost as if trying to give as many details as possible to express the concept he has in mind.
Also significant is the elongation of the limbs of the depicted skeletons. Another main exhibit is Pale Rider 4 which is resplendent in gold, which is ironic considering the theme. It features a human skeleton engulfed in myriad bones of another giant skeletal form. This is an admirable and thought-provoking work.
This exhibition does not depict forms one can call beautiful, but the execution and the amalgamated forms provide us with a different kind of beauty, albeit unconventional.
‘Last Light’ is open in the Contemporary Hall, National Museum of Fine Arts, Valletta, until November 20.