Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1170309
THIS WEEK ART maltatoday | SUNDAY • 22 SEPTEMBER 2019 4 Artist Gabriel Buttigieg takes 'The Beach' to Poland, as a recent collection of paintings heads to the Academy of Fine Arts in Gdańsk. TEODOR RELJIC speaks to the prolific young painter ahead of this exciting opportunity Teodor Reljic Exporting the ritual As a prolific painter who frequently exhibits their work, what motivates you to keep painting? Essentially, painting is for me a ritual. It is an anxious, frustrating and physically tir- ing process which requires immense dedication. That said, it is also a way for me to release my thoughts and energies at the time. Even though I've been painting for quite some time now, I still feel that I have a lot to dis- cover, both thematically and in terms of technique. Paint- ing is also, in my opinion, the most difficult language in visual art. There are quite a few contemporary painters whom I admire, however, in a local context the use of this medium has decreased. I feel that it is my role as an artist in Malta to keep this medium alive. On a thematic and also visu- al level the reason why I keep on painting so prolifically is because whether I like it or not I am always changing. There is always something new, whether intellectual or aesthetic, which occupies my mind. This is then reflected in the work I create. Apart from it being an international exhibition, how would you say 'The Beach' differs from your other, most recent solo showcase, 'Saudade'? 'The Beach' was a diffi- cult process for a number of reasons. It is being held at the Academy of Fine Arts in Gdańsk, a venue where a number of artists have show- cased their work. It is not solely a private space where I am sending one of my art- works. So I had to do a lot of research on the themes I wanted to discuss and also the execution of my work. With the encouragement of Dr John Paul Grech, Ambas- sador of Malta to Poland, who facilitated this exhibi- tion, the constant dialogue with curator and mentor Prof. Vince Briffa and other people such as Sarah Farru- gia, who has been managing the project and many others who have visited the stu- dio throughout the summer months, I think I have suc- ceeded in achieving a strong visual aesthetic which is wor- thy of the venue. For 'The Beach' I have taken many elements from my pre- vious exhibitions: the brush strokes of my first exhibition 'Paintings', the lines of the 'Droplet' series and various aspects of narration from 'Saudade'. The beach was, unsurprisingly, my theme, as this was always a subject which has haunted my work. However, 'the beach' is both the setting for these paint- ings and also a metaphor for the marginality and 'liminal- ity' Prof. Vince Briffa speaks about in the exhibition cata- logue. "The human figure is just a vessel" Gabriel Buttigieg • Photo by Marija Grech