Heritage Malta has launched Josef Kalleya: Sculptor, 1898-1998: His art, dreams and visions, a new publication by Joseph Paul Cassar that offers the first comprehensive study of one of Malta's most original, and long underappreciated, modern artists.

The book is the fifth volume in Heritage Malta's Maltese Artists Series, edited by Heritage Malta chairman and Muża director Mario Cutajar, and senior manager of Heritage Malta's publishing house Godwin Vella. In this latest addition, renowned art scholar, fellow artist and friend of Kalleya, Joseph Paul Cassar, presents a definitive reassessment of Kalleya through primary sources: the art itself, the artist's own writings, interviews, photographs and other archival documents.

Drawing on decades of research, Cassar examines Kalleya's formative years, his studies in Rome and his role in Malta's modern art movement. He explores Kalleya's strong religious beliefs and how the theology of hope featured in his art, alongside his artistic technique, sketches, exhibitions and unrealised projects. The book places his oeuvre within both Maltese and international artistic contexts. The result is a fresh critical perspective on an artist whose vision anticipated developments in modern and conceptual art long before they gained wider acceptance locally.

Born in Valletta in 1898, Kalleya devoted almost a century to art. A gifted musician who also performed on stage as a child, he later channelled that same creative energy into an intensely personal artistic language that challenged convention. While deeply religious, his modern vision often clashed with artistic and theological expectations, leaving many ambitious public and religious works unrealised.

Among the publication's many insights is Kalleya's unusual creative process. Believing that artistic exploration mattered more than permanence, he frequently photographed his sculptures before destroying them to recycle the clay into new works. As a result, many of his creations survive only through photographs and written records, making this publication an invaluable record of a remarkable artistic legacy.

The study also revisits defining moments in Kalleya's life, including his 16-year association with San Ġorġ Preca's M.U.S.E.U.M. Society, which he eventually left after his questioning nature put him at odds with fellow members, and the closure of Malta's only nude drawing school, which Kalleya founded in Valletta in 1936, after it attracted criticism in the conservative climate of the time.

During the book launch, Cutajar commented: "Kalleya makes you ask questions. A complete artist, whom this book presents in his entirety. Heritage Malta's publishing house is an invaluable asset for giving broader meaning to accessibility, like the agency itself. This is a book that should be in the hands of anyone who wants to know more. It is another volume in a series that brings art closer to people - in keeping with Muża's renewed vision, which has opened its doors wider so that one may appreciate the creativity and the contribution of the Maltese artist to the formation of Maltese identity."

'Josef  Kalleya:  Sculptor,  1898-1998:  His  art,  dreams  and  visions'  is  available  for  purchase  online  through heritagemalta.mt/store/e2066/ and from all Heritage Malta museums and sites