Opening this summer in the grand architectural setting of Palazzo Ferreria in Valletta, Expressive Moods brings together the distinct yet beautifully complementary artistic voices of Tessie Borg and Joseph Borg. Running from 21 June to 9 July, this joint exhibition offers visitors a profound visual journey through the landscapes of human emotion, memory, and atmosphere. This collection serves as a unique study in contrasts, showcasing how two painters working side by side can interpret the world through entirely different creative lenses.
While united by a shared vulnerability and sensitivity to mood, the two artists approach the canvas from opposing sides of the stylistic spectrum. Together, they build a compelling dialogue between abstraction and representation, the inward psychological state and the outward observed experience.
Tessie Borg: Mapping the inner landscape
Tessie Borg's contributions move primarily within the realms of abstraction and semi-abstraction. For her, colour, texture, gesture, and symbolic form are not tools for replication, but vehicles for deep psychological and existential exploration. Her paintings evoke internal, meditative spaces rather than external realities, inviting the viewer to step directly into raw emotional states.
A standout piece in her collection is Uprooting, a striking work of semi-abstraction. Against a vast, undulating background of rich teals and emerald greens, a fragile, dried plant form hangs suspended, its exposed root system clutching at a scattering of sand. The piece acts as a powerful visual poem on displacement, vulnerability, and the precarious search for stability.
This themes of isolation and inner transition carry heavily into her other works. In Solitude, Borg utilises a heavily texturised, earth-toned impasto finish that resembles a dense, weathered thicket, punctuated by vertical streaks of electric blue that cut through the gloom like sudden flashes of clarity. Meanwhile, Awakening Flame leans into pure, kinetic energy, featuring a central pillar of fiery vermilion applied with a palette knife that slices through deep cobalt and midnight blacks, perfectly capturing the turbulent moment of emotional renewal.
Joseph Borg: Harmony, light, and lived experience
In direct contrast to Tessie's intuitive abstraction, Joseph Borg's work retains a deliberate, anchoring connection to the visible world. He is an artist deeply attentive to nature, light, and the quiet moments of the human condition, though his compositions are never restricted by the rigid rules of strict realism. Instead, he translates physical forms into lyrical spaces saturated with memory and nostalgia.
His figurative work is beautifully represented by Pensive Mood, a softly modelled study of a figure in repose. Bathed in a gentle, warm light against a dark, featureless backdrop, the figure's downturned gaze and protective posture convey a profound sense of contemplation and human fragility.
Joseph's landscapes and seascapes display an equally evocative atmosphere, achieved through a sophisticated mastery of tonal harmonies. In Twilight, a solitary dark boat is moored on a shimmering sea beneath a dramatic, bruised sky of glowing reds and dusty ochres, as a flock of birds silhouettes against the fading light, a poetic meditation on endings and passage. His work The Swing introduces dynamic movement, capturing two children suspended mid-air against a brilliant amber sky, beautifully blurring the line between a sharp memory and a dream.
A duality of vision
The true power of Expressive Moods lies in the friction and harmony generated by placing these two portfolios side by side. Where Tessie's paintings emerge from an intuitive, psychological space, Joseph's works ground those same universal emotions within recognisable forms drawn from nature. Her palette embraces cool, deep, and luminous fields broken by sharp, vibrant contrasts; his relies on warm earth tones, deep greens, and glowing reds that wrap the viewer in a sense of tranquillity.
Ultimately, the exhibition proves that painting remains a deeply expressive act capable of communicating moods that transcend written language. Set within the historic, high-ceilinged halls of Palazzo Ferreria, Expressive Moods is far more than a visual display, it is an emotional encounter that invites onlookers to reflect on the interconnected visions of the world and the self.
'Expressive Moods' by artists, Tessie Borg & Joseph Borg runs from 21 June to 9 July at Palazzo Ferreria, Valletta
Professor Louis Laganà PhD (Lough) is an academic, curator and practising artist