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12 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 12 FEBRUARY 2020 CULTURE THE 27th BOV Retrospective Art Exhi- bition featuring 29 works of art by con- temporary artist Celia Borg Cardona was officially inaugurated on the 31st January 2020 by President George Vella, President of Malta. The exhibition is being hosted by Bank of Valletta at the Gran Salon in the Museum of Archaeology, Auberge de Provence in Valletta. Addressing the guests present at the cer- emony, BOV Chairman Deo Scerri said, "The BOV Retrospective Exhibition is in its twenty seventh edition, through it we are celebrating the works of Celia Borg Cardona and her bold, vigorous and ex- pressive brushworks. I am honoured to present to you a collection of works from the intense artistic journey of a person who has dedicated herself to her art, de- scribed as a social commentary of modern behaviours." "Bank of Valletta's Retrospective Art Exhibitions pay tribute to distinguished Maltese artists," said Mr Scerri. "Borg Cardona is the latest in the series of mod- ern contemporary artists who left a mark on the Maltese artistic scene. She joins the most famous artists of our islands like Ray Pitre, Anthony Calleja and Debbie Carua- na Dingli. The works of art on display span from 2002 to the present day." Born in 1957 in the UK, Celia Borg Cardo- na is a pharmacy graduate but her passion for painting led her to eventually abandon the profession. She studied at the Malta School of Art and Anthony Calleja's stu- dio for several years. Having resisted do- ing so for many years, in 2004 she started exhibiting her work and has never looked back. Her art is usually concerned with the unusual viewpoint, very often of groups of people seen from a high viewpoint either casually strolling in streets or engaged in group activities such as processions and band marches. She has turned her eye to Maltese streetscapes and buildings, in- cluding iconic ones such as the new parlia- ment while it was still under construction. Celia Borg Cardona stated, "It's a great privilege to have this exhibition organised by the Bank of Valletta, allowing me to join the ranks of respected artists who have featured over the last twenty years. A look back at the thrilling, enjoyable and happy journey my painting life has been for me, at least so far." Borg Cardona thanked Cu- rator Francesca Balzan for the wonderful job she did. During her intervention, the curator for this year's exhibition, Francesca Balzan spoke about Borg Cardona's inspiration- al work and the gripping impact it leaves upon its viewers. "This is a retrospective that shows how Celia Borg Cardona has evolved through the years, showing her true passion. Her sweeping views, often of Maltese landscapes, occasionally unusual and topical subject matter, and extreme viewpoints with energetic lines of force ex- pressed in a bold palette." As in past editions, Celia Borg Cardona's retrospective exhibition is being accompa- nied by a fully illustrated catalogue includ- ing a biographical synopsis and reproduc- tions in colour of all the exhibits on display. The exhibition remains open to the gen- eral public until the 4th March 2020. The opening hours are from Monday to Sun- day between 09.00 hours and 17.00 hours (last admission being at 16.30 hours). Gallery Walks with Celia Borg Cardona will be held on the 10th February at 1000 hrs and 11th February at 1300 hrs. The artist herself will be giving a guided tour around her exhibition. Registration for the Gallery Walks is required. Interested indi- viduals may register by sending an email to pr@bov.com. Official opening of the 2020 BOV Celia Borg Cardona retrospective art exhibition A public lecture by Professor Keith Sciberras on Melchiorre Cafà's stat- uette, 'St Rose of Lima', will be held on Wednesday 12th February at 6:30pm at MUŻA. Attendance is free of charge. The lecture will discuss the statue within the context of Cafà's work, and the wider framework of the Ro- man Baroque style. The event is a joint collaboration between Heritage Malta and the Department of Art and Art History within the Univer- sity of Malta. St Rose of Lima, who lived between 1586 and 1617, became the first fe- male saint of the new world in April 1668. For this occasion, Cafà's mar- ble statue of the Dominican saint was displayed prominently on the Cathedra of St Peter, in the titular apse of the Vatican, directly in front of Bernini's iconic ensemble within the same Basilica. Melchiorre Cafà was meant to be the artistic protagonist, but his un- timely death seven months prior to the Beatification tragically precluded his presence from the well-choreo- graphed ephemeral spectacle com- missioned by the powerful Domini- can Order. The real protagonist, however, was his white marble statue. Following the Beatification, the statue travelled across the Atlantic Ocean and beyond, to finally mark the saint's tomb in Lima, Peru, mak- ing Cafà's work the first monumental statue of the Roman Baroque to trav- el so far from the Papal City. Melchi- orre Cafà also produced a number of smaller bronze versions of the statue, the most beautiful of which, made of gilt bronze and silver, has been ac- quired by Heritage Malta. For more information, visit www. heritagemalta.org Melchiorre Cafà's Golden Rose