I very rarely go to art exhibitions, mostly because there are so many of them and I simply cannot keep up with all the cultural activities going on. But I do keep an eye on the art world through the press. I receive regular news of art sales from Christie's and Sotheby's which I regularly publish in our Saturday newspaper. I am more often than not amazed at the thousands and millions of people are prepared to pay for some artwork which, to me, seems rather pointless and devoid of beauty. But I love looking at the wonderful works of art which are auctioned.

I have been lucky as I had the fortune to visit art galleries as far afield as Haiti and New Orleans. I was surprised to see that in Haiti, which is so poor, art thrives and there is plenty of street art apart from the galleries. What is more there is also voodoo art and I love their naïve art, but then who doesn't? 
My favourite art galleries are in New Orleans. I saw such original art there: visual delights of every sort. 

I have no love for radicalism and experimental art when it seems so meaningless. I still bewildered when I remember that The Tate Gallery paid £22,300 for a 30 gram can of faeces created, or at least expelled, by the Italian artist Piero Manzoni. The can comes with a label announcing it as "Merde Artista".
Let us talk no further of Tracy Emin's filthy bed. My Bed was bought by Charles Saatchi for £150,000 and displayed as part of the first exhibition when the Saatchi Gallery opened its new premises at County Hall, London. 

When it was announced, in May 2014, that the work was to be auctioned, David Maupin, Emin's dealer in New York, described the £800,000 - £1.2 million estimate as too low. When auctioned by Christie's in July 2014, the piece was sold for a little over £2.5 million. 
If this isn't ridiculous then what is. What a waste of people's taxes when such works are bought by the state for some national museum. Why do we have to put up with artists who unlike the rest of us, refuse to act within the accepted bounds of proper behaviour and good taste. Yes, when it comes to modern art there are limits too. 
I am glad to say that so far politicised, sexually perverse rubbish that substitutes for art has not yet been on display here, as far as I know. 

And this brings me to a new art gallery in Balzan, Gallery 23 in Idmejda street, an elegant and intimate space run by Alexia Gingell Littlejohn and Rachel Said who are both young and enthusiastic mothers with plenty of talent and energy. The artist, whose work is showing at present, is Sarah Calleja, who is also a young mother. Sarah and Alexia are both architects and had set up their own architectural practice in 2014. 

Rachel graduated in Management and is an artist of considerable talent. She had studied art for many years under the guidance of the late Charles Cassar. She still has a passion for art and enjoys painting in her free time. As Alexia pointed out to me. Rachel and herself have been friends for a good 20 years and have many common interests, and now this new gallery. 

They tell me that Gallery 23 was created to bring together people with an interest in art and culture. The gallery will select works of quality of both emerging and established artists who work in various mediums and styles, be it paintings, sculpture, photography.

The gallery will continue to organise exhibitions as well as a number of workshops, art classes and lectures that would focus on the cultural and educational side of art as a means of expression.

Sarah has exhibited both in Malta and abroad over the years however, A Painted Narrative is her first solo exhibition. She tells a story through her 40 or so paintings as well as her choice of colour, line and form. The watercolours displayed on the pristine white walls of the newly refurbished Balzan house, now Gallery 23, catch your attention as soon as you cross the threshold. This is art in the old sense: you know, pictures you enjoy looking at and buying, that sort of thing. There is an element of the abstract in some of the paintings. 

I love Sarah's brush strokes. Her imagery is intensely personal, cascading with energy. I noted, and not without relief, that the titles were directly connected to the paintings. That is infinitely preferable to calling a canvas 'Abstract with Blue and Orange' or 'Untitled 508'. 
Sarah Calleja is an enthusiastic artist. She was introduced to watercolour at a young age, under the tutelage of Alfed J. Camilleri. She feels that the medium has now become part of her natural expression. 

She consolidated her artistic training at St Martin's College in London and subsequently at the Parson Art and Design College in NYC. On her return to Malta, she trained in figure-drawing with Jason Lu. But she soon discovered an innate passion for plein air painting - a practice which has since occupied her time and energies. 
Describing the action and 'experience' as 'a fight against time and the elements', en plein air painting, nonetheless offers her an ever-growing array of subjects and inspirations which finds no equal to painting in the studio, she says. 

'A Painted Narrative' will be on show until April 28 at No. 23, Triq LIdmejda, Balzan. People are encouraged to visit the exhibition by appointment or to follow updates on the Facebook page for further announcements about special events or to meet the artist. For appointments contact Rachel Said on 9942 8272 or on [email protected]. More of Calleja's work may be viewed on www.sarahcalleja.com or on www.facebook.com/sarahcallejaart. For more information, the artist may be contacted on [email protected]

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