Adventurous Intervention is the title of a freestanding stoneware scuplture by local ceramist Valerio Schembri chosen for participation in Ceramica Multiplex 2009 a ceramic exhibition that will be opened in Varazdin, Croatia on 18 April. The exhibition with the theme of “Nature as Adventure” includes a total of 150 ceramic works from forty three different countries selected from five hundred fifty original submissions received from all parts of the globe. The selected pieces will be displayed in the City Museum and the exhibition which forms part of the Third International Festival of Ceramics 2009 will remain open till 24 May. The Maltese ceramist has also been invited to make a fifteen minute presentation about his works in the Artists’ Show to be held following the opening of the exhibition.

In this selected piece Schembri who is an architect by profession introduces linear highlights and sharp incisions to hint at the adventure of human intervention on the free adventurous forms of nature, accentuating a sharp contrast between such highlights and the aggressive yet earthly textures that pre-dominate the work. The experiences encountered during his childhood’s adventurous wandering days within the valleys and countryside surrounding his native village Mosta, come back to the artist every now and then. These experiences are subconsciously incorporated in Schembri’s work, as the ceramist relives those early adventures within the surrounding habitat.

Nowadays Schembri appreciates that natural elements often leave their toll on these surroundings and create their own textures and patterns. Such masterpieces designed by nature now provide the inspiration for his ceramic works, works that aim to glorify the effects of the passage of time on the natural environment that surrounds our very existence as human beings.

A selection of Schembri’s work can also be viewed on his website www.valerioschembri.com