Following up on his successful solo exhibition Arcana, held in Milan back in October 2025, Ryan Falzon's new work builds on this exploration of Mediterranean belief systems through tarot imagery, talismans, and contemporary visual symbols. Firmament, however, pushes Falzon's work further into conceptual metaphysical territories, presenting his audience with a series of liminal territories, ruptures, and a journey that seeks the truth beyond and the truth within.
Curated by François Zammit and Veruschka Goetz, the exhibition examines the ancient idea of the firmament, the celestial dome separating the earthly from the divine. This boundary also serves as a metaphor for human longing, spiritual tension, and the desire to move beyond material reality.
"This new series of new paintings, writings, and installations expand Falzon's ongoing exploration of symbolism, cosmology, and contemporary visual language," Zammit says.
"While Falzon is already widely recognised for his bold, politically-charged imagery and for blending pop culture with esoteric symbolism, in Firmament he shifts his attention toward the visual and conceptual language of ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt, as well as medieval esoteric illustrations."
Central to the exhibition is the Flammarion etching, an iconic image of a traveller piercing the veil of the sky to reveal the hidden mechanics of the cosmos, a powerful symbol of humanity's enduring urge to transcend the limits of the visible world.
Through paintings, text, and installations, Falzon develops a new personal visual language that reflects psychological tensions and an existential curiosity.
"The viewers will encounter fragmented symbols, cosmic references, and textual interventions that suggest a passageway between the material and the metaphysical," Zammit says. "The act of tearing the veil becomes both violent and hopeful, a gesture driven by restlessness, doubt, and the search for meaning."
Conceived as an open invitation to enter this liminal space where inner and outer worlds intersect, Falzon applies contemporary artistic language to a primordial theme. Firmament encourages audiences to consider how ancient cosmologies still echo within contemporary thought, and how the human desire to look beyond the material remains as relevant as ever.
Firmament is supported by Spazju Kreattiv, APS Bank, ArtzID, Blind Margin, Saveria, VGB, Dota Framemakers and T616.
The exhibition is open from Thursday, 14 May to Sunday, 28 June at Spazju Kreattiv, Valletta.
For more information visit https://spazjukreattiv.org/event/firmament/#en
About Ryan Falzon
Ryan Falzon (b. 1988) established a distinctive voice and style in the political art scene of Malta, with a provocative and playful use of disparate images, constructed into a visual journey with his collage-like technique.
His artistic pursuits encompass painting, printmaking, and writing.
Falzon delves into the realms of contemporary duality, narrative exploration, social media, human interaction, and existential conditions within his vibrant and expressive works.
A Fine Arts graduate of the Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology (2011), he received instruction from professors at the Bauhaus and Mannheim University of Applied Sciences, where he also participated in numerous solo and group exhibitions across Europe, with his works finding their place in both public and private collections in Europe and the USA. Falzon later read for a Master's Degree in Fine Arts, from the University of Malta.
From 2016 to 2019, notable pieces like Quick Fix: A Morality Tale (2016), We Lost the War (2017), and Culture is Past Art is Future (2018), became a point of reference in the contemporary Maltese political art scene.
Since 2020, Falzon has passionately worked on his Plants and Gardens series, a collection of domestic interiors and still lifes that garnered widespread acclaim from critics. These artworks, influenced by the Covid-19 pandemic, delve into central themes of domestic settings, personal growth, environmental issues, and a biophilic sentiment.
Falzon, a Sixth Form art instructor at St Edward's College in Malta, is the author of the novel Sajf (2022, Kotba Calleja), which won him the Best Emergent Author award at the 2024 National Book Prize.