Professor Louis Lagana the art critic, has written thus about Camilleri: "Very few artists try to master more than one form of art. Antoine Paul Camilleri excels not only in drawing and painting but is also an excellent etcher, ceramist and sculptor.
His work does not belong to any particular style yet he expresses himself in a variety of modes to address what he has in mind. Antoine Paul loves sculpture and painting and produces both with the same enthusiasm, satisfaction and involvement. Although many think that his artwork is an extension of his father's stylistic repertoire, Antoine Paul instantly stands out for the original concepts of his artistic creations."
This, to those of us who went to see it, is very obvious from Antoine Paul's latest exhibition Expression - from Drawing, to Painting to Sculpture, at present taking place at Gallary 23, in Balzan. There is an embarrass de choix when it comes to deciding on your favourite pieces. Nudes, watercolours, pencil drawings, beautiful scenes in pyrography, ceramics, similar to the ones I used to admire and sometimes buy, in Rome, in my early teens and twenties. How can one artist produce such a diverse collection? Antoine Paul Camilleri is a chameleon artist. He has a unique gift to start off with, inherited from his mentor, his father Antoine. Now that he has more time at his disposal, having retired after forty-five years working as an Operations Manager with Air Malta, he is finally dedicating his heart and soul to his art.
Of a quiet disposition he has made up his mind about many things, among them the environment and our heritage. "Years ago I used to question why people, locals and also tourists, were allowed to enter museums and our Neolithic temples unsupervised and in unlimited numbers. This had caused a great deal of damage to our heritage. But at last the authorities realised this and steps were taken to remedy the situation. I must say I am also happy to observe that the preservation of historical places in general has improved."
But so much has changed for the worse already. "So many village cores have been ruined with concrete structures. Then there is the destruction of old trees, trees which took years to grow, to be replaced with new roads and flyovers. Granted, new trees were planted in several places but as we know these need a great deal of attention and it will be many years before they will be fully grown and able to provide shade."
Antoine Paul's father is the late artist Antoine Camilleri "who made a lasting impact on the development of Maltese modern and contemporary art." A book about him has just been published by Kite Group: Antoine Camilleri: A World Within, edited by Christian Attard, and launched at Gallary 23 last week.
What is his least favourite aspect of being an artist? "I feel that locally the artist is not appreciated and in the past when I used to enter for a competition for a commission in public art we used to have to pay tax and VAT which made all the effort and hardship to make the art work for the competition, not really worth the effort.
An artist is not a businessman but still he must earn a living. Another little grumble: Art materials have become very expensive to purchase."
Only a small percentage of the public values art, he tells me. "Some prospective buyers like to bargain with the artist. What is the point of arguing about how long it took an artist to create a particular work of art? How can anyone put a price on a piece of art except the artist. A drawing may take just five to 15 minutes however, one must consider the years, it took; years of studying, following courses and working to perfect our art. Money and time have been invested and are behind even a small drawing."
How does he feel about internet, Facebook and other platforms that have impacted the world of art?
"I am not much of a fan when it comes to networking and social media. I admit that Facebook is a good medium to communicate with friends and old acquaintances, and affective for sending invites through Messenger thus avoiding expenses."However, he is not a constant presence on Facebook unlike some other artists.
What is his ideal work environment and why? "My studio, is in the basement of my residence. I love it but it has become small, as sculpture takes a lot of space. I have now managed to organise the studio in sections; for working in clay, pyrography, etching, welding and wood work. It is a place where only my pets are present, our cat Pussinu and a budgie. I had a dog Balto, but unfortunately he had to be put down due to severe health issues."
Antoine Paul has tried his hand in various media. "Clay, stone, resin, wood, metal tin sculpture, glass fusion, wax (for bronze casting), cold cast bronze, concrete, lino prints, etching, watercolour, acrylic, pen & ink... you name it." However his favourite medium is pen drawing, "being the first and fundamental journey to other forms of art. I also enjoy drawing en-plein-air, thus I get out of the studio once in a while and I concentrate on what I am drawing to the point that I do not notice people who come and have a look, or comment, on a street scene or a figure drawing." This is how he developed his beach scene, in St George's Bay, he tells me, which is exhibited upstairs at Gallary 23. "I modelled some of the figures in clay and later I fired them."
Where does he find his inspiration? "Everywhere. I could be walking and suddenly notice a street or view which attract me. The light and shade, at that particular moment interest me. Inspiration could also come from a documentary about nature or sport. For my latest art works, with "sport"as the theme, I am usually inspired from seeing athletes on TV. I worked on the weightlifters, while spending some time watching the IWF weightlifting Championship 2023."
Does he have a favourite piece of art he made yourself and which he will never sell or give away? "I still have in my collection art work I did when I was very young. These pieces are made of clay and resin, as I did not have a kiln then. So I used to make the base in wood and work on the structure in wire, model in clay and preserve the sculpture with resin. Two examples are The breadseller and The Procession of the Risen Christ, a piece of work done in 1973-1976. To answer your question: no I never part with art work related to my family."
What particular lessons from his father does he keep in mind? "My father, my best friend and teacher, always insisted on hard work and also humility. He was a very good teacher, and taught me that first of all I had to master drawing before going on to painting or sculpture. The subject, he used to say, is not important, it is what you make of it that is. Good art lasts forever, 'nice' art on the other hand does not. An artist has to experiment, venture into new territory. Even at the age of 80+ he claimed he was still a student, and I agree, there is always so much to learn."
Does he have any advice to give to younger artists or prospective ones? "I believe that to succeed in life one has to make sacrifices. Long hours of thinking and drawing to finally be able to create something original. An artist has to be a doer but also a thinker. Everyone is influenced by other artists, however one must try to create a style, a mark, works of art which distinguish him from other artists and which are unique."
Does he have any particular regrets? "No I have no regrets. I believe that with age a person becomes more selective, and is more aware of time and appreciates it more. I try to avoid anything negative whether events or people. I do my best to utilise my time diligently now that I have more of it."
Antoine had several one man shows, the first, in 1988, at the Museum of Archaeology, which consisted of 80 works in terracotta. He has also participated in several collective exhibitions.
He has received several public commissions: The Risen Christ an 8ft sculpture; for the Church at Pembroke; the Via Sagra which can be found at the airport chapel. He was also selected for Eco Gozo. The two art works, It-Tfulija is in Rabat, Gozo and The Three Farmers in Sannat.
'Expression - From Drawing, to Painting to Sculpture' is hosted by Gallary 23, Triq L-Idmejda, Balzan and is on until 27 October. Consult them on Facebook for further details.