Gabriel Caruana is the doyen of the Maltese art scene. Over the years he has met and worked with a plethora of artists, both foreign and local. When speaking about his life he flits seamlessly from one topic to another, mentioning his friends and travels. Victor Pasmore, a very dear friend of Gabriel Caruana, said this about him: “I find it difficult to write about my friend Gabriel Caruana, firstly because he is my friend and then because he is a wonderful artist. A wonderful artist cannot be classified and described with academic formulas. Caruana’s art is always fresh and free, always alive and bold: it possesses the same verve that gave birth to the modern independence in painting and sculpture”. Richard England has described him as the “eternal seeker of myth and magic”.
What does Gabriel Caruana say about himself? What was your family life like? Were the arts encouraged when you were a young boy?
I was born in Balzan, in a family where the arts were encouraged. My mother, who died when she was only 37 years old, was the granddaughter of a baron from Reggio Calabria. My grandmother was training to become a prima donna when her father brought her over to Malta where she married Piju Ebejer. Ebejer was a master mason with a team of 500 men. The story goes that the young Piju was noticed by Lord Strickland. He was so impressed by his work that at the age of nine, Piju Ebejer was already employed by the government and earning three schillings a week. My grandfather was a pioneer in his field of work. He introduced new technologies to Malta which facilitated work. He was the man behind the Bon Pastur Convent and the laying of concrete on the Valletta promenade. My father was a police sergeant who had great belief in precision. He was respected by all. He had a passion for horses which his constables would present in shows. They always placed first. When I was seven years old I was already playing around with clay. I would make clay figurines and sketch. As i grew older I’d work with papier mache and I went on to produce huge grotesque Carnival masks. In later years I was responsible for the decoration of Palace Square for the carnival festivities.
Where did you study and which artists shaped who you are?
“I studied at the School of Art and later at the Accademia Pietro Vanucci in Perugia. In Perugia I happened to meet Henry Coloselli, an Italo-American artist. He happened to live in Detroit, quite close to my brother, who had emigrated there. In Detroit I studied at the School of Arts and Crafts. I was staying at my brother when one morning Coloselli picked me up in his car and took me on a tour of local studios. We met so many artists but it is Julius Schmidt whom I remember the most. Coloselli had told me that Schmidt was not known for welcoming guests. It would be better if I said that I was an artist and not a teacher. There was a deep ditch around his house which we had to cross before we got to the entrance where he greeted us with a kettle in his hand because he was foundering nickel! (Nickel was a medium Schmidt used to work with). I showed him my drawings and we discussed my art.”
How is it that you did not settle down overseas?
In the United States I was offered a job at Ohio State which I refused. In the meantime I was also making busts of my brother and his family. He told me that many people liked the busts and that I would surely have lots of work if I remained in the United States. However, I still remained adamant on returning home where I had a steady job which would offer me a pension once I retired.
Throughout, I stayed in contact with the Accademia in Perugia. In fact, a couple of years ago (in 2001), the Accademia elected me an Academico de Merito. Although I was based in Malta, I travelled frequently. I have visited Faenza innumerable times and I studied at the Instituto Statale d’Arte per la Ceramica. I have worked with many media, perspex, wood, concrete and bronze. I have also worked on large relief murals and paintings but ceramics are what I am probably best known for. It is probably because I travelled all the time and because I always worked with Maltese and non-Maltese artists that I believe my works do not have such a strong Maltese identity. My works have no passport – they are citizens of the world.
“In Malta I was teaching ceramic art, however I was maintaining contact with the international art scene. I was friends with the futurist Gerardo Dottori and he was a great inspiration. I chuckle when I remember how the Accademia secretary had come up to me and hugged me all the while saying, “Tu sei bravo! Tu sei bravo!”
He said that they had ignored Dottori, kicking him aside but I had exalted and elevated the Umbrian artist. Dottori was a very down to earth man. He had a beadle who used to help him at his studio, helping him lift the heavy stuff etc... One time Dottori was pottering around in the garden, in his work clothes when a couple came over and they thought Dottori was the beadle rather than the artist. They asked him if they could meet Dottori as they would like to purchase some work. Dottori went inside, changed his clothes, returned to the couple and sold the painting!”
Artist Victor Pasmore lived in Malta for a while and you were friends. How did the two of you meet?
“Well ... there was a building in Zachary Street which was often used as an art gallery and I had exhibited three ceramic pieces there. A piece eventually found its way to Malta House in England. Pasmore was looking for a place with good light where he could have a new studio. He was thinking of Cyprus but when he saw my ceramics he asked his wife Wendy what she thought about Malta. They decided to build a studio in Malta. A couple of months later I was with Diacono (Victor Diacono, sculptor) as we were working together at the Phoenicia. We met Pasmore in the lobby and Diacono introduced me to him. Pasmore said that we should meet but unbeknown to me his wife and he left the island soon after. I was quite disappointed. However, two months later I was at an Art Society meeting as I was a council member. During the meeting I asked the President to excuse me as I had left the kiln on. When I arrived in front on the Palace, I see Pasmore. Pasmore greeted me enthusiastically. (A bit too enthusiastically as ten months later I could still feel his friendly blow on my shoulder!)
He mentioned some of my works which he admired, in particular a Crucifixion and an Annunciation and we went to have a coffee at the Premier. Pasmore said that he would love to see more of my work so I invited him to my studio. We started meeting up regularly and I introduced him to other artists. Pasmore passed encouraging comments and said that I was on the right track. Pasmore and I also went to Comino which he took a shine to. At the time I was also working on five 12-foot sculptures for the hotel there.
These sculptures are now in Switzerland. Around that time we also used to meet with Basil Spence (Modernist / Brutalist) and Emilio Vedova (an influential Italian modernist) whom I had introduced to Pasmore.
When passing through Balzan, one is immediately intrigued by the windmill with the totems which encircle it. How did you start exhibiting there?
The Mithna ta’ Ganu is an 18th century windmill and it was abandoned and shut up. The windmill also intrigued me and I asked about it. Eventually DeMarco gave it to me and it was inaugurated in 1990. I have a lot of my pieces on permanent exhibit there, but there are also works by many other important artists, in particular Mario Tosoni. Tosoni first exhibited in Malta in 1979 when I introduced him to Chevalier Giuseppe Gatt – the curator of St John’s Co-Cathedral. Tosoni lived a life of solitude and his paintings range from portraits, landscapes, still-life to studies of animals and people going about their daily work as well some religious themes. If you look at his paintings, you notice that all of them have that signature Tosoni style.
Unfortunately he died four years ago, so it is a great honour for Malta to have his art hanging here.”
Having worked for so long and in a century which saw great changes, how do you review your life and work?
I have no regrets. I still have many ideas and despite aching joints I still work. Ceramics and bronze works are very tiring. They crack easily and are heavy to carry. I am particularly proud of the monument to Arvid Pardo at the University and St Benedict School in Kirkop. I was also awarded the Medal of Merit by the Republic of Malta so it is pleasant to be recognised for your work by your compatriots. My years of teaching were very positive. I like meeting up with old students. I believe art can help children so much, injecting them with confidence. I have also met and worked with great artists. My motto for life remains, “Quando l’arte diventa vita la vita diventa poesia!”
Gabriel Caruana is married to Mary Rose Buttigieg and they have two daughters, Gabriella and Raffaella. He has held solo exhibitions in Malta, England, Italy and Switzerland and has shown his work in group exhibitions in Osaka, Detroit, Munich, Tripoli, London, Israel, Melbourne, and several times in Malta. He has participated several times in the International Competition of Artistic Ceramics in Faenza, Italy and his works can be found at the International Museum of Ceramics of Faenza, at the Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester, at City of Manchester Art Gallery, and at the National Museum of Fine Arts in Malta.