Malta's contemporary art museum, MICAS, brings together three internationally acclaimed artists in A New Life Force. It was officially launched by the President on 9th October. Nathanaëlle Herbelin, Kemi Onabulé and Megan Rooney explore the island's landscapes, history and culture through painting.
A New Life Force brings together Nathanaëlle Herbelin, Kemi Onabulé and Megan Rooney, three artists at an interesting point in their international careers, each creating new bodies of work informed in part by visits to Malta, drawing inspiration from the island's culture, history and geography.
Nathanaëlle Herbelin, based in Paris, paints interiors and figures in earth tones and softened forms. Working in the tradition of Les Nabis and Pierre Bonnard, her quiet rooms, muted colours, the sense of a memory being handled carefully, invites viewers to slow down. For A New Life Force, Herbelin has taken inspiration from the ex-voto paintings found in Maltese churches - small painted tokens of thanks for a rescue at sea or a recovery from illness.
Kemi Onabulé, born in London, draws on Greek, English and Nigerian heritage to paint verdant forests, scorched plains, skies that could be dawn or wildfire and figures who explore our vanishing relationship with the natural world. Visiting Malta, she was struck by the islands' vitality and its visible traces of a combative past. This intensity of the landscape, the flora and the colour has worked its way into a body of paintings that includes her largest canvases to date.
Megan Rooney, also based in London, is the most physical painter of the three: she builds her surfaces up in accumulated gesture and colour and then takes a power sander to them, alternating brush and machine until the picture settles. At MICAS, she became attuned to the way daylight moves through the galleries, and she has painted at a larger scale than usual: layered surfaces alive with colour, atmosphere and glimpses of something growing.
"All three artists demonstrate a determined focus on their singular modes of expression while maintaining a deep connection to, and engagement with, the history of art," says MICAS artistic director Edith Devaney, curator of the exhibition. "They each share a distinct commitment to painting and to exploring the possibilities of the medium. Individually, each possesses enormous creative energy - and we look forward to seeing this unfold across the walls of MICAS."
Visiting MICAS alone repays a visit on its own terms: set into the 17th-century fortifications at Floriana, a short walk beyond Valletta's city gate, MICAS is a fantastic creation: it marries the mass of the 17th century bastions with a floating steel roof that floods the interior gallery space with light.
A fully illustrated catalogue published by global art specialists Skira Arte accompanies the exhibition.
It is closed on Mondays; open Tuesday from noon to 6pm, Wednesday and Thursday 10am to 6pm, Friday and Saturday 10am to 8pm, with free entrance on Sundays from 10am to 6pm, and a free guided tour at 11am. Go late on a Friday, when the galleries stay open until 8pm and the light over the harbour does its best work.
Visit MICAS at the Ospizio Complex, Bieb il-Pulverista, Triq Joseph J. Mangion, Floriana.
Kemi Onabulé
Born in London and drawing on Greek, English and Nigerian heritage, Kemi Onabulé paints landscapes and figures that explore humanity's changing relationship with nature. During visits to Malta, she was struck by the islands' vitality, history and dramatic landscape. These impressions inspired a new body of work, including some of her largest canvases to date.
Her paintings frequently evoke nature as a powerful and fragile force.
She is recognised for richly coloured, atmospheric compositions that invite reflection on the natural world.
Megan Rooney
Born in South Africa, raised in Canada and based in London, she approaches painting in an intensely physical manner, building up layers of colour and gesture before sanding and reworking the surface. She is internationally known for large-scale paintings and immersive installations.
While preparing for the MICAS exhibition, she became fascinated by the movement of daylight through the galleries and created works on a larger scale than usual, full of colour, atmosphere and a sense of organic growth. Her paintings are often highly gestural, lyrical and emotionally resonant, with colour playing a central role.
Nathanaëlle Herbelin
Born in Israel and now based in Paris, Nathanaëlle Herbelin trained at the Beaux-Arts de Paris. She paints interiors and figures characterised by earthy tones and softened forms. Her work draws on the traditions of Les Nabis and Pierre Bonnard, creating scenes that have the quiet quality of memory. For this exhibition, she was inspired by the ex-voto paintings found in Maltese churches, the votive images that commemorate survival, recovery and gratitude. Her work has attracted growing international attention in recent years through exhibitions in France and abroad.