Chevalier aux etendardsFrench artist José-Maria Ovejero’s ongoing exhibition titled The Helmet and the City presented at The Fortress Builders Fortifications Interpretation Centre in St Mark Street, Valletta, celebrates the 450th anniversary of the laying of the first stone of Valletta. It pays tribute to French Grand Master Jean Parisot de Valette.
The 21 exhibits are drawn with a sharp cut bamboo and a big brush of fox hairs. The lines are irregular and vibrating, enhanced with black or coloured china ink, and sometimes with gold and silver leaves.
They evoke the powerful link between the knights and their colossal constructions, among them the Sacra Infermeria built by the French knights. The location chosen for this exhibit makes it more significant.
On the opening night, Ovejero and French Ambassador Béatrice Le Fraper Du Hellen presented acting President Dolores Cristina with La Fontaine d’Apollon à Versailles, which will be auctioned to benefit The President’s Foundation for the Well-being of Society.
• The exhibition runs at The Fortress Builders until June 3.
Opening hours: Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 10am to 4pm / Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10am to 7pm, Saturdays from 9.30am to 1pm. Entrance is free.
• More information may be obtained by sending an e-mail to franceinmaltapress@gmail.com or fic.mjcl@gov.mt.
About the artist
A much-travelled Frenchman, born in Manila, The Philippines, José-Maria Ovejero lives in Paris. His artwork, where horses are a recurrent theme, has been showcased in art galleries and museums throughout the world, most notably the Centre Georges Pompidou and the Orangerie in Paris, the Cliff Dwellers Foundation in Chicago and the Manoel Theatre in Valletta. His work can be found in the permanent collection of the Musée Carnavalet in Paris.