Tonio Mallia's love for the as yet unspoilt beauty of the Gozitan landscape becomes tangible as one views his latest body of work at art..e gallery in Victoria, Gozo. His recent decision to spend more time living in Gozo has deepened the intimate relationship he has with the island leading to the idea of holding an exhibition with works painted exclusively on Gozitan soil.
Being an avid trekker has led Tonio to discover more of Gozo's wild and isolated spots which could be promising painting locations. This sparked off the inspiration to venture out almost daily early in the morning with his easel and painting equipment, to interpret the scenes from these newly discovered sites, leading to a culmination of works about Gozo.
The paintings being exhibited are a careful selection of these works all of which have been executed in the past year. This exhibition tells a unique story recounting Gozo's natural beauty which so much needs to be preserved and not spoilt by the viral ruin of the concrete sprawl that has engulfed so much of Malta.
Throughout history, artists have been on the forefront championing just causes using the powerful tool of pen or brush. As in his previous solo exhibition titled Earth, this artist hopes to raise the awareness needed that, unless we act fast, our natural heritage will slip through our fingers.
Tonio has been an exponent of watercolour painting in Malta for the past four decades. Throughout these years he has incessantly explored the frontiers of this and other water-based media to find new forms of expression. Unlike the studio work in his Earth exhibition, where the deep values and textural effects of inks predominate in those dark mixed media studies, these brighter exhibits are a spontaneous reaction to the beauty of natural surroundings.
In these paintings the free spirit of the watercolour medium is exploited to create works that aim at the poetic essence of the scene being painted, free from clutter and relying on the freshness of quick economical brushstrokes as well as strong composition.
This is Tonio's third solo exhibition at art..e gallery. The gallery is situated at 1, Library Street, Victoria and is open daily between 9.15am and 12.15pm.