Art for charity has, in recent years, become an ever-increasing phenomenon on the Malta art scene. Nothing wrong in this, and there are occasions when the practice deserves encouragement.

Ġanni Pace’s forms abound in movement and have the unique charm of his character, which shows through effortlessly

Nonetheless, it has its negative side and it is not correct to presume too much on the artist and expect him to donate his works for charity.

The two exhibitions I report upon were both for worthy causes and an example of how an artist can contribute to an initiative or a charity, and at the same time provide us with a taste of his/her developing talent.

I start with Maria Rossella Dalmas. She is showing 20 paintings to support the restoration works being carried out at the Church of Our Lady of Victory in Valletta, which is another Din l-Art Ħelwa initiative, perhaps its most ambitious and difficult one.

The second exhibition by Ġanni Pace consisted of freestanding and wall-hung sculptures. Some of the profits of the sales went to the Malta Community Chest Fund. A noble cause indeed.

Depicted in Dalmas’s works are the restorers at work, altar boys, the church rector, as well as Simone Mizzi, the hard-working president of Din l-Art Ħelwa. Entitled Pulchior in Luce (More Beautiful in the Light) because of the features being brought to light through the restoration intervention, the paintings also record events that took place in the church, such as visits by politicians and royalty.

The aim was to raise funds to help the restoration works which continue uninterruptedly. This exhibition helps to remind the visitor that there is so much that has yet to be done to preserve this important tessera in Malta’s rich and amazingly variegated cultural mosaic. The idea behind the exhibition is therefore more than commendable.

Among the first paintings to be encountered are the restorers hard at work. There is a radiance in the painting that makes good use of light and captures the spirit of one of the restorers.

Another painting shows Stephen Rickby, Courtauld Institute of Art in London, at work on the vault of the church with its splendid Alessio Erardi paintings. The execution of this painting is fresh and the palette is vibrant, and it adequately portrays the delicate moment.

A painting depicting of Ir-Rettur, Dun Anton, boasts an interesting composition painted from a low viewpoint, showing the pious priest as his solemn self. The painting entitled Pulchior in Luce, however, had the strangest of compositions, and was not as successful.

The second set of paintings focuses on altar boys and children, with the execution being somewhat strained in these figures placed close to the picture plane. The one exception here is Looking Ahead. It is in fact this and the first four works that were most successful. The others were good at recording the moment, but not too exciting. Perhaps this was so because they were most reliant on photographs, not life.

Dalmas’s exhibition was originally held in one of the corridors of the Auberge d’Italie courtyard in Valletta, where the paintings had a lot of breathing space.

This was not the case for Ġanni Pace’s Romantic Fantasy II, which included 65 works produced in the past three years at the Casino Maltese’s covered courtyard. This was another very commendable initiative.

What one can immediately gauge from Pace’s exhibition is that the sculptor has a sensitive soul and is readily responsive to nature, mankind and the general environment around him. The exhibits vary in medium from terracotta to wood and stone.

Pace’s forms abound in movement and, whether vertically or horizontally oriented, or hanging on the wall or freestanding, they have the unique charm of his character, which shows through effortlessly. A recurrent feature of Pace’s work is the presence of sorrowful faces that emerge from the midst of his compositions, in some cases showing more than one, such as in the wall-hung terracotta Hope for Freedom, and in Thoughts II.

Faces also feature in Pace’s wood sculptures, in which he skilfully exploits the natural shape and veins of the medium. However, his forte remain his terracotta works.

Movement and pathos are at their best in the terracotta sculpture Our Lady of Sorrows, which has an asymmetrical composition and a freshness of execution that animates it further. In the more three-dimensional Dreams, also in terracotta, the colour effects complement the theme and the composition. Bacchus and Neptune are also memorable works.

What is new is Pace’s over-enthusiastic use of polychromy, especially in his terracotta pieces. Colour did feature in his last exhibition, but this time round, it is more pronounced, at times too much so. At times it gives them an air of superficiality. This is unfortunate. Knowing Pace, this was surely not his intention.

The thing is that one may have plenty of ideas. Among these are good ideas and not so good ones. Your good idea might be, to adopt and adapt polka dot aficionado Yakoi Kusama’s phrase, “a dot lost among millions of dots”. The difficulty is being conscious enough to realise that that one bright idea must shine through and be distinguished from the rest.

The maxim can be applied to many things, including writing, such as the concluding remarks of a thesis for instance. Many ideas must crystalise into one great one.

This can also apply to artists; there are so many around the world, and you must do something really worthwhile in order to be recognised.

It is said that you become what you think about most, and if your work is an integral part of your life, then you know this to be true. This goes well with Malcolm Gladwell’s 10,000-hour rule, the idea that to become successful at anything, requires you to put in 10,000 hours (circa 10 years) of work.

This may not be a problem for both Dalmas and Pace (this is Pace’s 10th solo exhibition for instance), but it cannot be taken for granted. But in those 10,000 hours, you must recognise your greatest moments and not let them be screened by others. The truth is that we also get carried away, and perhaps not be taking the time to step back, look again, and think clearly.

The intention of both exhibitions and both artists in question were great. It is the implementation and execution of some of the ideas that lacked in some areas.

Maria Rossella Dalmas’s Pulchior in Luce is open at the Din l-Art Ħelwa offices at 133 Melita Street, Valletta. Ġanni Pace’s Romantic Fantasy II was held at the Casino Maltese, Republic Street, Valletta.