An Exhibition of Paintings By Karl Mallia Until 26 October

Gallery G in Lija will be hosting Karl Mallia’s first exhibition in Malta for three weeks starting from today.

Karl Mallia has painted since he was a teenager, but it was in Bahrain, an island in the Arabic Gulf, that he found the final spurt of inspiration.

Karl is based in Bahrain where he has found the perfect atmosphere to motivate him and, perhaps because of its tame nightlife, to practise his art; hence the reason for his prolific works over the past three years.

Or perhaps this inspiration was the result of the cumulative effect of extensive travels across Asia for these past several years. Whatever the reason, the benefits are for us to enjoy.

“My job gives me a lot of free time, and I used that free time to paint

instead of, say going fishing or partying,” Karl says. “I experimented a lot – I even did landscapes at one point – and used different materials and combinations. But most of my paintings arise from my inner landscape.”

The Australian-born Karl has already exhibited in collective exhibitions in Australia, Bahrain, and the U.A.E, and has done some work for a member of the Bahrain Royal Family. Now it’s Malta’s turn to host a selection of his works in his first solo exhibition. “I want to test the water in Malta” he says.

His art is full of original takes on abstract or familiar subjects. Take the painting en titled Lost in Enlightenment for example; it is dominated by a dull blue surface, like a looming wall, with three openings that suggest doors and windows; the mood is almost suggestive of someone in a claustrophobic space looking out through the openings at the reds and oranges and whites in the distance. The suggestive title makes one wonder why the artist stopped where he did. But this is the prerogative of an artist.

“For me, looking beyond ones horizon or looking at vast spaces is one of the ways I get inspired. On the contrary when you look at a wall a foot away – you get nothing,” he says.

Cryptic words, but words have no place in describing the mood of a painting – it is the colours, the form, and the mood that matter. And in all these elements, Karl’s paintings are very interesting.

His initial success has given Karl the confidence to speak about art in philosophical expansiveness. “Art is endless,” he quips. “I enjoy using all types of material – be it the most expensive paint on the market or a piece of battered driftwood. I use everything around me for inspiration, and I love the element of surprise that arises from time to time as the painting takes a life of its own on the canvas.”

Karl believes that art is another form of bringing across a message – at this point in time for him – A Positive One. This message is portrayed in the inscriptions he uses on some of his paintings.

Karl’s exhibition is sponsored by Attard & Co with Goiya Wines, Bank of Valletta, Delta Media Services, The Victoria Hotel, 2 diffused pictures and The Fortress.

Gallery G’s exhibition halls and Gallery shop (No 4, Sir Ugo Mifsud Street, Lija) are open to the public between 9am - 5pm weekdays and 9.30am - 12.30pm on Saturdays.

Contact details:

tel. 2142-1984 / 5

Email – [email protected]