Though renowned for his countless portraits, one can safely say that Ray Pitre’s self-portraits are hard to come by and few and far between. Perhaps this may be due to his reluctance to expose his outer self, his image. Yet, when one looks at the present exhibition at art..e gallery in Victoria, one immediately perceives that one is looking into Ray Pitre’s soul.

These paperworks, as the artist himself fondly calls them, are the true renderings of his feeling and moods, worked silently in his studio, perhaps not intended to be seen by the public. Each of these paintings, some of which reworked over the years, are perhaps more lively and meaningful than his “traditional” work and show the other side of Pitre’s artistic world. This may be because these works are unshackled by the constraints put on the artist by demanding clients or other commissions. The artist uses different techniques and media, including collages and the scorching of the paper base.

Although one may categorise them as abstract paintings, for the artist himself they represent particular experiences, reflections and episodes he went through. As such these paintings are an expressionistic record of the different phases the artist experienced along the years.

The exhibition, sponsored by Attard & Co, is titled “Anatomy of the subconscious” and is at the art..e gallery, 1 Library Street, Victoria, Gozo. It is open till 29 June.

The gallery is open daily between 9.30am and 12.15pm, Monday to Saturday; on Fridays the gallery is also open between 5 and 7pm. Private viewing can be arranged by calling 9980 4774 / 2155 7911 and by e mail at [email protected].