Perhaps one of the most versatile contemporary artists of the second generation of artists (artists born between 1930 and 1939) in Malta is Joseph L. Mallia. His works show us a pictorial vision of the world in which his figures, landscapes and abstracts meld through the expressive power of colour and form. His paintings reveal the development of an artist who moves from the figurative and the landscape to abstraction without compromising his identity.
Mr Mallia is mostly aware of the importance of the local landscape which has a great role in the cultural, ecological, environmental and social make-up of the Maltese islands. His landscapes are worked with meticulous detail, and one will discover typical scenes of the Grand Harbour and other seascapes but he is mostly fascinated by the countryside. He enjoys depicting vegetational assemblages of maquis, garigue and steppe, thorny bushes, trees, scrubs and faces of rocks formed by erosion which give interesting compositional effects in his work. In later years Mr Mallia also attempted to create stylised scenes executed in geometric shapes and vivid colours, producing the typical rooftops and churches together with other interesting structures that make up the Maltese city or village.
I am particularly impressed and drawn by Mr Mallia's figurative work, which throughout the years has become increasingly abstract, using geometric, often primitivist compositions to represent human forms in particular situations. Let us not forget that for a number of years the artist worked on many book illustrations and other graphic work where figurative art was central. When one looks at some of his figurative work, like the series called Meeting, one will quickly see that the figures have an affinity with tribal sculpture or ethnographic influence. The grotesque shapes of these figures are self-contained and not particularly addressed to the viewers, but they rather express a strong intensity in the way the artist manipulated the geometric qualities that characterise the direct formal influence of tribal art.
As we know, art is derived from nature and the artist is the tool to make visible not just what is seen with the naked eye but also the unseen and communicates it. Mr Mallia said: "Although I refer to the visible world directly or indirectly when making art, outside form is perceived, filtered and changed according to forces in my subconscious". In fact in later years, his paintings moved from the landscape of the outer world to enigmatic images of the inner worlds, mostly expressed in an abstract idiom. It is, I argue, that images are transformed into lines and forms which produce depth and perception are spatially created and the viewer is swept into another unknown world. It is a natural evolution in the process of exploring deeper layers of the unconscious.
His style could at times be seen as a derivation of constructivist-futuristic roots and full of movement. It is also reminiscent of some abstract works by Kasimir Malevich, and one can also sense the elements of a "biomorphic abstract" type of art. For example in his series of latest abstract works, we find titles like, Garden, Castle Rock, Endless Summer, Forest Dreaming and Fruit, which show that Mr Mallia did not completely leave the landscape and the physical world but rather expresses the essentials and evocations of nature. These works are an explosion of colour composed of various fragments of sharp-pointed shapes, round-edged pieces and other universalised forms. Various shades of bright blue dominate these works mixed with subtle hues of greens, yellows and vibrant reds, producing an intriguing effect. Versatility is found not only in colour but also in meticulous detail of the minutest objects found in the landscape and the natural environment and then abstracted by the artist according to the mood during the moment of creation.
The artist had seven personal art shows and participated in many collective exhibitions in Malta and abroad. Former director of museums, Fr Marius Zerafa, in the inauguration speech of the latest personal art exhibition by the artist, held at the Auberge d'Italie, in Valletta, described Mr Mallia "as a perfectionist and experimentalist". The exhibition, entitled I Paint Therefore I Am, comprised a selection of paintings, drawings and prints from Mr Mallia's prolific repertoire, with some works done during these last few years. One of his interesting works in this exhibition is his portrait executed in a rich textured manner, an unusual way of depicting a portrait. We know that painting a self-portrait is always a perceptual challenge for the artist.
This work provided the viewers with a moment of conscious visual exploration. Surely it reflects the styles which influenced him during the years the artist spent studying in the UK. One may associate it with a sort of pop art interpretation, where the artist focuses on the exploration of the edge using bands of translucent coloured stripes and light contrasts to achieve an effect of depth and tri-dimensionality.
Mr Mallia's images are an expression derived from his memory, the unconscious, and also from the transformative process of modernist art. His colours and forms are highly sophisticated, whimsical and expressive, as well as inventive. The ultimate meaning of all of his abstracted realities may not be grasped quickly by the viewers but surely known, and I think it's safe to say that they give joy and pleasure to everyone.
• Dr Laganà is a reader in Modern and Contemporary Art History, specialising in Jungian Aesthetics, Primitivism and other aspects of art criticism and theory. He lectures at the Junior College and the Faculty of Education at the University of Malta.
Mr Mallia is mostly aware of the importance of the local landscape which has a great role in the cultural, ecological, environmental and social make-up of the Maltese islands. His landscapes are worked with meticulous detail, and one will discover typical scenes of the Grand Harbour and other seascapes but he is mostly fascinated by the countryside. He enjoys depicting vegetational assemblages of maquis, garigue and steppe, thorny bushes, trees, scrubs and faces of rocks formed by erosion which give interesting compositional effects in his work. In later years Mr Mallia also attempted to create stylised scenes executed in geometric shapes and vivid colours, producing the typical rooftops and churches together with other interesting structures that make up the Maltese city or village.
I am particularly impressed and drawn by Mr Mallia's figurative work, which throughout the years has become increasingly abstract, using geometric, often primitivist compositions to represent human forms in particular situations. Let us not forget that for a number of years the artist worked on many book illustrations and other graphic work where figurative art was central. When one looks at some of his figurative work, like the series called Meeting, one will quickly see that the figures have an affinity with tribal sculpture or ethnographic influence. The grotesque shapes of these figures are self-contained and not particularly addressed to the viewers, but they rather express a strong intensity in the way the artist manipulated the geometric qualities that characterise the direct formal influence of tribal art.
As we know, art is derived from nature and the artist is the tool to make visible not just what is seen with the naked eye but also the unseen and communicates it. Mr Mallia said: "Although I refer to the visible world directly or indirectly when making art, outside form is perceived, filtered and changed according to forces in my subconscious". In fact in later years, his paintings moved from the landscape of the outer world to enigmatic images of the inner worlds, mostly expressed in an abstract idiom. It is, I argue, that images are transformed into lines and forms which produce depth and perception are spatially created and the viewer is swept into another unknown world. It is a natural evolution in the process of exploring deeper layers of the unconscious.
His style could at times be seen as a derivation of constructivist-futuristic roots and full of movement. It is also reminiscent of some abstract works by Kasimir Malevich, and one can also sense the elements of a "biomorphic abstract" type of art. For example in his series of latest abstract works, we find titles like, Garden, Castle Rock, Endless Summer, Forest Dreaming and Fruit, which show that Mr Mallia did not completely leave the landscape and the physical world but rather expresses the essentials and evocations of nature. These works are an explosion of colour composed of various fragments of sharp-pointed shapes, round-edged pieces and other universalised forms. Various shades of bright blue dominate these works mixed with subtle hues of greens, yellows and vibrant reds, producing an intriguing effect. Versatility is found not only in colour but also in meticulous detail of the minutest objects found in the landscape and the natural environment and then abstracted by the artist according to the mood during the moment of creation.
The artist had seven personal art shows and participated in many collective exhibitions in Malta and abroad. Former director of museums, Fr Marius Zerafa, in the inauguration speech of the latest personal art exhibition by the artist, held at the Auberge d'Italie, in Valletta, described Mr Mallia "as a perfectionist and experimentalist". The exhibition, entitled I Paint Therefore I Am, comprised a selection of paintings, drawings and prints from Mr Mallia's prolific repertoire, with some works done during these last few years. One of his interesting works in this exhibition is his portrait executed in a rich textured manner, an unusual way of depicting a portrait. We know that painting a self-portrait is always a perceptual challenge for the artist.
This work provided the viewers with a moment of conscious visual exploration. Surely it reflects the styles which influenced him during the years the artist spent studying in the UK. One may associate it with a sort of pop art interpretation, where the artist focuses on the exploration of the edge using bands of translucent coloured stripes and light contrasts to achieve an effect of depth and tri-dimensionality.
Mr Mallia's images are an expression derived from his memory, the unconscious, and also from the transformative process of modernist art. His colours and forms are highly sophisticated, whimsical and expressive, as well as inventive. The ultimate meaning of all of his abstracted realities may not be grasped quickly by the viewers but surely known, and I think it's safe to say that they give joy and pleasure to everyone.
• Dr Laganà is a reader in Modern and Contemporary Art History, specialising in Jungian Aesthetics, Primitivism and other aspects of art criticism and theory. He lectures at the Junior College and the Faculty of Education at the University of Malta.